Charming Ginny
by lilyevansJan30
Summary: Impetuous decisions made in childhood are meant to stay there, but Ginny's first year at Hogwarts was rather more life-threatening than most. She swears to never to do anything to risk Harry's life again, but never is a long time. Voldemort is finally dead, but will echoes of the Chamber prevent Harry and Ginny from ever finding happiness?
1. The End

A/N: I realized halfway through Chapter Two that I should have added this at the beginning. It's not exactly a prologue, more like a foreshadowing. So, here it is. Pretend you read this first.

 _She pushed aside yet another pile of rocks blocking her path, wishing for at least the tenth time that she could just blast them away with her wand, or at least charm them to weigh less. The prickling on the back of her neck was getting stronger and she suspected she was finally getting close, even though her memories of the last time she'd been here were murky._

 _She didn't want to continue. Her worst nightmare was coming true, the chanting in her head getting louder that once again, this was all her fault, her fault, her fault._

 _But even louder was Draco's voice warning her that Harry was going to die. Again._

 _So Ginny plodded on._


	2. Chapter 1

And here is the start of an entirely new story. It is not intended to be a retelling of canon. Note that most of the letter from Ron to Harry is taken directly from Chapter One - Owl Post, in Prisoner of Azkaban. Part 1 of the story takes place prior to the Battle of Hogwarts. Enjoy and please review!

June, 1993

The tears would not stop flowing, and Ginny was not a girl who cried easily. Her personality was much the product of her six older brothers, and she had certainly never seen any of them cry. Sitting in Dumbledore's office after it was all over, Ginny's emotions veered from shock and horror to embarrassment, from pain and fear to guilt, and only briefly to relief. She had no idea what to do with what she was feeling; until this year the biggest complication in her life had been how to get her brothers to let her use their brooms to practice flying. And now look what she had done.

"Ginny, how many times have your mum and I told you, _never trust something that can think for itself if you don't know where it keeps its brain?_ " Her father looked exhausted, the fear of the past hours only now beginning to be replaced with whatever came next after fear was extinguished.

"Seriously, Gin. That's something a Muggleborn might do. You really should have known better." The chiding from her brother Bill was even worse. Parents were supposed to lecture, but Bill, her adored oldest brother, had always been Ginny's champion and protector. She bowed her head as the tears began again in earnest.

"I'm just relieved to know that Harry will be all right, that poor boy." Ginny's mum had hugged her daughter fiercely, looked her over to make sure she was truly all right, and then, uncharacteristically sat quietly while the others in the room discussed the events of the day. That her first comments in almost an hour were about Harry spoke volumes to Ginny.

"Ginny is lucky that Harry didn't just let her stay down in the Chamber, you know, as payback for that singing Valentine."

"George!"

"Too soon?"

Ginny shuddered. _Lucky indeed, she had been. What if Harry really hadn't wanted to come?_ Logically, Ginny knew that was ridiculous; her brother Ron was Harry's best mate. But there was no question that all of this began, and continued, and got much, much worse, because Ginny had fancied Harry Potter pretty much since she was out of nappies. Everyone knew it; the family had teased her for years. Lucius Malfoy had clearly seen how her crush caused her to defend Harry that day at Flourish and Botts – why else would he have given her the diary? And Tom . . . Tom saw it immediately, how her feelings for Harry could be so easily used to manipulate her actions. Ginny couldn't remember much of what she had done while possessed, but she certainly remembered what she had written to a diary-boy she thought was her friend.

 _She fancied Harry and Harry had almost died because of it._

Ginny was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize at first that her family was gathering their things to leave the Headmaster's office. "Come on, Gin," Bill said. "Mum and Dad need to get you back to the Burrow and I need to get a Portkey to Egypt. You are all still coming to visit me next month."

Bill's voice had none of the teasing her usually reserved for his little sister and Ginny heard his unspoken thoughts – they were all still coming to visit despite the mess Ginny had made of things. She sighed and followed her family.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Happy Birthday!_

 _Look, I'm really sorry about that telephone call. I hope the Muggles didn't give you a hard time. I asked Dad, and he reckons I shouldn't have shouted._

 _It's amazing here in Egypt. Bill's taken us around all the tombs and you wouldn't believe the curses those old Egyptian wizards put on them. Mum wouldn't let Ginny come in the last one. There were all these mutant skeletons in there, of Muggles who'd broken in and grown extra heads and stuff._

 _Ginny was really mad at Mum for treating her like a baby, but she has been kind of a pain this whole trip anyway. The first tomb Bill took us into had all these snakes and things painted on the walls and she got all upset. Mum and Dad have been lecturing her a lot about making better choices at school this year. Honestly, they tell all of us the same thing – especially Fred and George – but Ginny seems to be taking it personally or something. She spent half of yesterday crying in the bathroom at our hotel. Mum told us it was none of our business what was wrong._

 _Your birthday present is attached to this letter – it is a Pocket Sneakoscope. If there's someone untrustworthy around, it's supposed to light up and spin. Bill says it's rubbish sold for wizard tourists and isn't reliable, because it kept lighting up at dinner last night. But he didn't realize Fred and George had put beetles in his soup. I told Ginny I was sending it to you so you'd be sure to know if she was going to cause you problems again this year but she just burst into tears again. I told you – mental._

 _I couldn't believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Seven hundred galleons! Most of it's gone on this trip, but they're going to buy me a new wand for next year. We'll be back about a week before term starts and we'll be going up to London to get my wand and our new books. Any chance of meeting you there?_

 _Don't let the Muggles get you down!_

 _Try and come to London,_

 _Ron_

 _P.S. Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter last week._

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It was a relief to get back to England. Ginny spent most of the week in her room, thinking and packing and getting ready for school. Her family seemed to have finally decided that they had lectured enough and she was mostly, blissfully, left alone. She even managed a few secret night-flies on the old broom Charlie had left in the shed. It didn't go very fast, but it was better than nothing and being up in the air relaxed Ginny like nothing else.

Her nerves bloomed a bit again when they all went to stay at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry would be there. From the whispers between her parents and a few stolen peeks of the Daily Prophet – her mum had taken to burning it immediately after reading for some reason - Ginny concluded that they were concerned about him. She didn't know what exactly was wrong - she hoped he wasn't still suffering from getting bitten by the Basilisk - but it sounded serious.

As it turned out, Harry looked to be perfectly fine when she saw him at the Leaky. He was sitting at a table with her brothers and they were all in absolute hysterics over a story Harry was telling them, something about blowing up his aunt. Fred and George seemed particularly interested in the exact series of events that had led to the poor woman's inflation and Ginny feared they were going to try to recreate the scene with the next Muggle they came across.

"Ginny, hey, how are you?" Harry jumped up from the table and came over to give her a hug. She froze for a second but then muttered hello and hugged him back, mentally berating herself for the stupid swoop in her stomach. Harry looked like he was about to sit back down with her brothers, but then suddenly turned and frowned at the sight of her parents, talking to each other across the bar. Her mum was shaking her head and looked upset. Every so often one of them glanced at Harry.

Harry took a deep breath. "Something is going on," he said.

"Nothing about the . . . you know, the Chamber, don't worry," said Ginny quickly.

"That's good," said Harry. "I've had enough of the Chamber for a lifetime."

Ginny bit her lip. "Me too," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Ginny, I didn't think . . ." Harry looked embarrassed. "Ron wrote me that you had a hard time in one of the tombs in Egypt. I didn't mean to remind you."

Ginny wanted to throttle Ron for telling Harry about how she cried in the tomb of the serpent, and she said as much to her brother in no uncertain terms, pointing her wand at his nose while she threatened him. She was gratified to see Harry grin, his earlier worry replaced by mock fear that his best mate would soon be sneezing bats. But a second later his eyes flicked again to her parents.

"It's something serious," agreed Ginny. "I've heard Mum and Dad talking."

"Serious . . ." said Harry. "D'you think they mean Sirius Black?"

Ginny shrugged. "Hmmm, maybe that's what they meant. He sounds horrible. No one has ever escaped from Azkeban before."

Harry looked at Ginny's parents again. "I wish I could figure out what's going on," he said.

Ginny started to say something – maybe an offer to help – when she bit back her words. _I'm the last person Harry would want help from._ She jerked a nod instead and made a weak excuse about finishing her packing before running up to her room.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

They were still more than an hour from Hogwarts when the train began slowing down, and then stopped. All along the corridors students were sticking their heads out of their compartments, trying to figure out what was going on. It got colder and colder, and when the lights abruptly went out, Ginny stumbled through the dark into the compartment where Ron and Harry were. She had a sense of foreboding she could not explain; she only knew she wanted to sit with family.

And then, a horrible black –cloaked and hooded figure entered the compartment and invaded Ginny's brain. Suddenly, she was back in the Chamber, watching from afar as Tom Riddle ordered his Basilisk to kill Harry and this time, Fawkes did not come to save the day.

 _Your fault, your fault, your fault, your fault_ chanted in her head. Even the sight of Harry falling to the ground of the train and convulsing couldn't entirely erase the words in her brain and she stared, horrified, at what she had done.

Even after the lights came back on and the horrible _thing_ had disappeared, Ginny couldn't get the images of the Chamber out of her head. She let Hermione fuss over her and accepted a piece of chocolate from the new professor – Lupin, she heard his name was – and was starting to feel the tiniest bit better when suddenly Draco Malfoy appeared in their compartment with his constant companions, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Potter, is it true? Did you actually faint?" He and his stupid cronies laughed and mimed falling down. Draco caught sight of Ginny and his grin leered. "Maybe next time your girlfriend can save you from your little nightmares. You know, return the favor for last year."

Ginny froze. _Everyone knew she had almost gotten Harry killed._

"Shut up, Malfoy." Ron had stood up and looked about to draw his wand.

"Anything I can help you with, boys?" Professor Lupin spoke mildly, but there was something under his tone that made Ginny pause.

Draco and his friends muttered that they were fine and left quickly, and Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. That is, until she looked at Harry. He was still eating chocolate and his color was better, but the haunted, confused look hadn't left his face. "What . . . what was that thing?" he asked shakily.

"One of the Dementors of Azkeban," said Professor Lupin. "Among some of the nastiest creatures that walk the earth. Among other things, they eliminate all feelings of joy and cause you to relive your worst experiences. I suggest trying to avoid them as much as possible. Now if you will excuse me, I need to speak with the conductor."

Harry leaned over and rubbed at his eyes. "That was horrible," he muttered. "I didn't think I'd . . . I mean, I don't remember . . ." he stopped, looking around helplessly.

Ginny knew how he felt. She wanted to comfort him, to let him know that he was not the only one who still had nightmares about the Chamber. But Draco Malfoy's leer still rang in her ears and Harry was very determinedly not looking at her. She swallowed hard and stood up.

"I'd . . . I'd better go change into my robes," she said quietly. She heard Ron and Hermione say goodbye as she left the compartment.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The halls and classrooms of Hogwarts were more unfamiliar to Ginny that she cared to admit. She knew she had spent the entire previous year there, had gone to classes, eaten in the Great Hall, even performed more than adequately on tests and homework, but her memories felt more like looking at photographs of someone's else's life than recalling her own experiences. _She had really hardly been present, that entire year._

Her room was the worst. The bed was fine, but as soon as she caught sight of her desk, that damn desk where she had sat, day after day, writing her deepest thoughts and feelings straight into Tom Riddle's mind, her stomach flipped and a cold sweat broke out on her skin. It was like the feeling she had gotten in that pyramid in Egypt; there, her mind had transported her back to the Chamber. She had been able to see herself, lying on the cold stone floor, waiting for Harry Potter to save her. But this time, Fawkes did not arrive to save him, and the two of them died there, while Voldemort's soul floated out into the world. _Your fault, your fault, your fault._ She had heard.

Now, staring at her desk, all the things she had written in the diary came flooding back. All the stupid, childish, things she had told Tom about Harry Potter and how wonderful he was had made Tom powerful. He had stolen Harry's own power straight from Ginny's thoughts and heart and used it to become stronger, until he was strong enough to nearly kill Harry and Ginny both.

She shuddered and shook her head. _This had to stop._ With the greatest of effort, Ginny forced her mind away from memories of the desk. She heaved all her new schoolbooks onto its surface and dumped some quills and blank parchment there for good measure until the top was nearly covered. Ginny was usually a very neat person and the desk's messiness calmed her bit.

Ginny's roommates' arrival helped too. They hadn't known her well enough a year ago to realize that her mental and physical absences were more than dreaminess or disinterest, and all had been properly shocked and horrified at the thought of living just feet from Ginny's possession and not realizing it. Now Demelza turned to Ginny and smiled.

"All right there, Gin?"

Ginny took a deep breath and smiled back at her roommates. "All right," she nodded. She was determined to put the Chamber behind her and make this a good year.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

It wasn't as easy as Ginny had hoped. Being completely conscious of her surroundings at all times was a relief, of course. Everything seemed to be sharp focus as she moved through her classes, talked to her friends, did her homework. She knew with absolute certainty that she wasn't being possessed or missing moments.

But the clarity made her more aware of what those around her were doing and saying too. Despite not having any classes with the second years, Draco Malfoy seemed to be ever present in Ginny's day. He never passed up the opportunity to make a snide comment, and Ginny soon grew tired of trying to ignore his remarks about snakes, little girl crushes, and getting rescued. She had no idea why the boy seemed to want to relive an experience in which his own father had come off looking bad, but that particular detail did not seem to bother Draco in the least when he teased her.

Just that morning, it had happened again as she walked by _that bathroom_. It appeared to be flooding again, water spilling out from under the door. Ginny skirted the puddle, but slipped a little. As she steadied herself on the wall a leering voice rang out.

"Watch it, Weasley. Potter's not around to save you right now if you fall on your arse." She heard several people laugh and she lowered her head and walked swiftly away, cheeks burning.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

"And they are going to add a new section to Hogwarts, A History about the Chamber!"

Ginny's head jerked up from her breakfast. Down the table, Hermione was talking rather excitedly to Harry and her brother. Ron, predictably, was ignoring her in favor of shoveling food into his mouth. Harry, on the other hand, looked distressed. _Our names will probably be in the book, and the fact that it was my fault, my fault, my fault._ Harry said something to Hermione, too quiet for Ginny to hear, and Hermione shook her head. Ginny looked away, not wanting Harry to know she was watching him. Still.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Ginny's heart no longer skipped a beat every time she saw her desk, but even so, she much preferred to do her homework in the common room or library, or elsewhere. She was slowly repairing her relationship with her roommates and enjoying the camaraderie of living with – finally – other girls instead of all her brothers. Today, quite predictably, they were talking about boys.

"Colin Creevey?" Demelza's incredulous voice carried into the stairwell as Ginny walked towards their dorm just before curfew.

"What about Colin?" she asked as she entered.

"Vicky here thinks he's rather adorable," said Demelza with a snort.

Ginny snorted. "He barely reaches your armpits!" She collapsed onto her bed.

Vicky shrugged. "I dunno, I like his enthusiasm for life or something." She looked over at Ginny.

"What about you? Anyone you fancy?"

Before Ginny could respond, to say that no, she hadn't really noticed any of the boys at Hogwarts in that way, Demelza broke in.

"It's Harry, isn't it? I heard that you've had a crush on him forever."

"Yeah, and he really is adorable," added Vicky. "I thought after all that stuff last year that the two of you would make a cute couple." She spoke casually, as if talking about the fact that Harry had merely helped Ginny with her homework or something.

"No, definitely not," said Ginny quickly. The warm feeling from chatting with her girlfriends disappeared and she suddenly felt cold. "That . . . that crush on Harry, it was from when I was really little." Her voice rose a bit and her roommates looked at each other. " I haven't fancied him for ages and ages," she said forcefully.

"Sorry Ginny, I didn't mean to bring the Chamber up again." Demelza at least seemed to grasp Ginny's discomfort.

Ginny shook her head. "It's okay," she said. "I'm fine. It's not a big deal." Despite the fact that she had just returned to the dormitory, she stood up again. "I uh, I think I left a parchment in the library. I'll be back." She fled down the stairs.

It didn't help her state that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all sitting around the fire when Ginny reappeared. She walked rapidly towards the portrait hole, not wanting to talk. Of course, it didn't work.

"Hey Ginny, it's almost curfew. Where are you going?" Ron looked up.

"I forgot a parchment in the . . . uh . . . the library," she said quickly. She kept walking.

"You probably can't make it there in time." Harry stood up. "If you really need it, I can go under my Invisibility Cloak."

"No!" the word burst out of Ginny much more violently than she intended. Harry looked taken aback and she rushed to explain. "I mean, thank you. But you don't need to risk getting in trouble over me. Really. I don't need it." She turned back to the steps leading up to her dormitory again. "I didn't realize it was so late. No one needs to get the parchment. It will be there in the morning." She wrung her hands. "Please. Don't go. It's really okay." She fled up the stairs without waiting for Harry to reply.

The entire time she was getting ready for bed, Ginny's thoughts were swirling about the close call. She really hoped Harry wouldn't decide to go try to find her missing parchment anyway, especially given that it didn't really exist.

Not surprisingly, Ginny had a nightmare that night. Once again, she was back in the Chamber. Tom was stepping out of the diary and talking to Harry, sharing every intimate detail that Ginny had written about him, laughing that Harry would waste any time trying to save stupid, lovesick little Ginny. "It's her fault that you are going to die," Riddle said. "She should have known better than to fancy you. Should have known better than to put you in such danger. It's all her fault. Her fault, her fault, her fault . . ." And the Basilisk slithered over and bared its fangs and Ginny awoke with a start, sweating and shaky and feeling like she wanted to vomit.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It took her two days to figure out how to ask and then to get him alone, but Ginny finally knocked on Professor Flitwick's door after the end of classes a week before Halloween. He looked at her with a curious expression.

"Miss Weasley," he said, ushering her into his office. "How can I help you? Are you having trouble with the Cheering Charm we worked on today?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, no, nothing like that," she said. "I was wondering if you could help me with something a little more important."

Swiftly, she explained her dilemma. "And I have nightmares about it all the time," she concluded. "If I don't get rid of it, I know it's only a matter of time before. . . before . . ." she couldn't finish.

Professor Flitwick looked thoughtful, and then nodded. "That is actually not a difficult problem to solve for someone your age," he said. "Have a seat and close your eyes. This won't take very long, and I think you will feel much better soon."

Half an hour later, Ginny left Professor Flitwick's office feeling much lighter. She closed his door carefully and thus missed his soft sigh. _Ahh, young love is never easy. What is the harm for a couple of months if it makes her happy?_

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

"Ginny, Ginny, wake up! Are you okay?" Ginny came slowly to herself, to see Demelza standing over her bed with a worried expression.

"Wha . . What happened?" she asked sleepily. "There was a snake . . . an enormous snake."

"I think you had a nightmare," said Demelza. Vicky was awake now too, watching her.

"I . . . did," said Ginny shakily. She realized she had forgotten to set silencing charms around her bed. "About being back in the Chamber. " She closed her eyes and shuddered, remembering. _There had been an enormous snake, a Basilisk, slithering around her. And Tom Riddle coming out of the diary to tell her she was going to die. And there was pain._

"I dream about snakes a lot," she said quietly. That was all they needed to know.

HPHPHPHPHP

The next morning, Ginny walked blearily towards the Great Hall for breakfast. It had taken her a long time to fall asleep again after her nightmare and she was later than usual. She wasn't paying much attention to where she was going when an arm reached out and grabbed her.

"Watch out, Ginny, you almost walked into a wall there."

Ginny looked up to see Harry peering at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

Ginny nodded through an enormous yawn. "Y. . .yes, just tired," she said. "I had a nightmare last night."

"Ahh," said Harry. "I'm sorry. I know how bad those can be."

Ginny yawned again. "I don't know how I'm going to get through my classes. And the Halloween Feast tonight. I think I need a nap." She peered at Harry. "You get nightmares too? I guess I'm not surprised to hear that." She noticed him slowing his steps to match hers as they walked into the Great Hall. "What are they about? If you want to tell me, I mean."

Harry shrugged. "I don't mind. They've been worse since the Dementor on the train. I hear screaming. I think it's my mum."

Ginny made a low sound of sympathy. "Ahh, yeah. I can imagine why the Dementors would bring that out. I'm sorry. That is not the kind of thing that is easy to get over."

Harry nodded. "It's not," he agreed. "And watching Malfoy pretend to faint every time he sees me doesn't help."

"Malfoy's an arse," said Ginny shortly. "Remind me to Bat Bogey Hex him next time he walks by."

Harry chuckled. "That hex is one of the first things Ron told me to watch out for when I visited the Burrow last summer," he said. "I'd love to see it – on someone else."

"Sirius Black is still on the loose," said Ginny lightly. "I'll keep an eye out for him."

Harry snorted. "To stay out of his way, I hope. He sounds nasty."

They had arrived at the entrance to the Great Hall and Ginny frowned. "I didn't realize how late I was," she commented. The large room was almost empty.

"Ahh, yes, well, it's Hogsmede for the third years and above." Harry sounded uncomfortable all of a sudden. "I suspect most people ate early."

Ginny remembered Ron ranting about Harry's horrible relatives and that they refused to sign his permission form. "Right," she said casually. "I hear it's overrated." Next to her, Harry sighed.

"Thanks, Ginny," he said quietly.

Ginny shrugged. "Want to play Exploding Snap or something after breakfast?"

"Yeah, that would be fun. I um, just have to see Professor Lupin first. Find you in a couple of hours?" He touched her lightly on the arm. "And . . . thanks."

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The entire school was on high alert in the months after Halloween, once it was discovered that Sirius Black had broken in. Students walked around in clumps and the teachers talked in low voices.

Ginny's nightmares, which had eased for a while, roared back with a vengeance after the horrible Quidditch Match between Gyffindor and Hufflepuff. As the Dementors had swarmed onto the field, she was pulled under, back to the Chamber, back to the enormous Basilisk coming to kill her and kill Harry and allow Tom Riddle to escape.

No one noticed her distress; everyone's attention had been focused on Harry as he fell off his broom. As soon as Ginny had come back to herself, she went to the Hospital Wing to visit him.

He was lying glumly in bed; the rest of the team having just left. A pile of sticks lay on a chair next to him. Ginny couldn't help but gasp. "Is that . . . is that your Nimbus?" she asked, unable to keep the shock out of her voice.

"Was my Nimbus," nodded Harry. "Now it's firewood."

Ginny sat weakly down. "Wow," she said. "I'm so sorry."

Her distress at the loss of his broom seemed to cheer Harry a bit. "Thanks," he said. "Everyone else seems more upset that we lost the game."

"And no one is upset about the Dementors?" Ginny didn't realize her voice had risen. "I'm surprised everyone didn't fall of their brooms. I almost . . ." she broke off, embarrassed.

"You almost what?"

Ginny sighed. "I almost passed out," she admitted. "I felt like I was about to get bitten by a giant snake."

"The Dementors affect you almost as much as they do me," said Harry thoughtfully. He was quiet for a second. "Professor Lupin said he could teach me a way to try to fight them. We are going to start after Christmas break. Would you umm, want to learn too?"

Ginny smiled. "I'd like that."

HPHPHPHPHPHP

In the end, it was difficult for Ginny to match her schedule to Harry's, and he visited Professor Lupin on his own. But Harry's success in producing a Patronus during the match against Ravenclaw (never mind that there had never been a real Dementor threat), Harry made a point to teach her the spell too.

It wasn't easy, Ginny was working mostly on her own to practice, but there was something about learning how to protect herself from the Dementors that just made her feel better. It was just before June, after Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup, that Ginny was first able to cast something that might, in the right light, be called a Patronus. True, it was mostly silvery smoke, but she was proud nonetheless. She jumped up, wondering where Harry was. She wanted to show him what she was able to do, what a good teacher he was. The light from the full moon shown through the window of the classroom where Ginny had been practicing and she started. She would have to find Harry in the morning; it was later than she thought.


	3. Chapter 2

She was unaccountably excited about the Quidditch World Cup. This was the type of thing her family had always considered her to be "too young" for in the past and it seemed like they had finally decided she had learned her lesson about the Chamber. Even having to wake up in what felt like the middle of the night could not completely dampen Ginny's enthusiasm, and she couldn't help but grin at Ron and Harry as they stared blearily over their breakfast before they set out to walk to the Portkey.

The chilly morning air seemed to wake everyone up a bit, and Ginny found herself walking next to Harry as they climbed a particularly steep hill.

"Have you spoken to Sirius recently?" she asked as they panted along the path.

Harry jerked his head around at her question and then, realizing they were the only ones around, relaxed. He nodded. "We send owls back and forth," he said quietly. "But call him Padfoot."

"I know not to talk about him around other people, Harry," Ginny said patiently. "It must be nice to have found out that your godfather is not the Dark Wizard everyone thinks he is."

Harry nodded again. "It is," he agreed. "I just wish we could figure out how to clear his name so that he can come out of hiding." He looked at Ginny. "How is your Patronus coming along? Have you been able to practice it?"

Ginny shrugged. "A little bit. Not as much as I should be, probably. Now that the Dementors are gone from school I'm not as worried."

"And your nightmares . . .?" Harry asked.

"I still have them occasionally, but not as often. What about you?"

"Better for me too," said Harry. "I think knowing that Sirius – Padfoot – is out there worrying about me has helped. He's been telling me stories about my mum and dad in his letters."

"Hurry up kids, we can't miss the Portkey!" Mr. Weasley was already at the top of the hill, looking down at them. Behind them, Ginny heard Ron groan.

"I'm going to need a lie-in by the time we get there," he grumbled.

Harry laughed. "Go on ahead and tell them we are coming," he told Ginny. "I'll deal with your brother."

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The match was one of the greatest things Ginny had ever seen. She and Harry passed his Onomoculars back and forth, talking excitedly about the moves and maneuvers each team used and debating with Ron about whether Viktor Krum was going to be able to carry the entire Bulgarian team on his own against the nearly seamless Irish Chasers.

Afterwards, Ginny could only remember snatches of what had happened; Fred and George had grabbed her and marched her, lockstep, through the fleeing crowd. She had been startled, frightened even, but not anymore than anyone else, at first. She ran easily with them, trying to stay out of the way of the masked figures until they could make it to the edge of the field. But then she caught sight of the sky, at the enormous skull and snake floating above the campground, and her nerves failed her for a minute. The twins had to practically carry her to the meeting point; she was shaking too badly to walk. It was only when she heard that Ron and Harry and Hermione were still missing that she was able to shake off her stupor.

And once she knew they were safe, Ginny was rather dismayed with her behavior. Everyone else was properly worried about the riot; apparently the Dark Mark had not been seen in nearly thirteen years. Harry had seen a mysterious figure and everyone was talking in hushed tones about Death Eaters. And she got upset at an image of a snake? This had to stop.

The next morning at the Burrow, she sought out Harry as he helped her mum set the table. He smiled as she walked into the kitchen, a number of plates in his arms.

"Will be easier when I can finally do this by magic," he said. "Ron's out chasing gnomes with Hermione if you want to help them."

Ginny snorted. "No thanks," she said. "I still haven't recovered from being bitten the last time. Anyway, I wanted to ask you a question."

Harry put the plates on the table. "Sure, what is it?"

"Do you think a Patronus can protect against more than Dementors?" Ginny spoke quickly. She still felt a little embarrassed about falling to pieces the day before.

Harry looked thoughtful. "I don't really know," he said slowly. "What are you looking for protection against?"

Ginny sighed. "Snakes," she said. "I . . . I saw that one yesterday in the sky. The Dark Mark. And it made me . . . remember things."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Right. Snakes. Hmm. Well, the Patronus is supposed to feed on positive energy and memories. I know that I cast my best ones when I'm thinking really good thoughts. I don't see why casting one wouldn't make you less upset." He held up his arms. "But, I don't think it would actually make a snake go away. It might just make it easier to bear, you know? Can't hurt to keep practicing anyway."

Ginny nodded. She was a little disappointed that there was no easy fix, but what Harry said made sense. "I'm going to keep practicing," she agreed.

"I can help you," Harry offered. "I finally figured out the knack for casting them at the end of the school year; I think I could teach you now."

Ginny couldn't help but smile at Harry's understated explanation for what, exactly, gave him the "knack" for casting a Patronus. "Yeah, nothing like being swarmed at by dozens of Dementors to help you pick up that skill particularly quickly," she quipped.

"Actually, it was something different altogether that helped me," he said. "The swarm of Dementors should have gotten me and Sirius and Hermione. Have I never told you this story? About seeing my dad?"

"Your dad? How did you see your dad?"

"I didn't, really. That's what was so amazing." Harry grabbed her arm. "Let's go outside and practice. I'll explain on the way. Can you think of a really good memory?"

"Watching the World Cup," Ginny said promptly. "Before . . . everything else, of course. It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I'd love to be able to play like that someday."

"Let's try it and see what happens," agreed Harry.

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Ginny really wanted to smack her brother. Anyone who had seen Harry's face when Dumbledore had called his name would have no doubt that Harry was telling the truth, that he had no idea how his name had gotten into the Goblet. She had watched Harry trip dumbly up the aisle of the Great Hall to mutters and jeers, and it hadn't really registered until later that Ron was muttering loudest of all. She was rather annoyed with herself; maybe if she had said something to him right away she could have made him see reason before things got out of hand.

But she hadn't said anything and Ron and Harry had gotten into an enormous fight, leaving Ginny and Hermione to navigate between them. The older witch probably had it worse, having all her classes with the two boys. They were her best friends and she really couldn't choose sides. Although Ginny suspected that Hermione had some kind of inexplicable _feelings_ for her brother. She definitely did not want to examine that too closely, but it made things more complicated.

Ginny, on the other hand, had no trouble telling her brother he was a git at every opportunity; since Hermione had to play more evenly, Ginny found herself spending more time with Harry than she might have otherwise; the poor boy really needed a friend.

She didn't really know what to do about the teasing and grief he seemed to get from all corners of the castle for being the "false" Tri-Wizard champion. She wasn't good enough at Transfiguration yet to do anything about those stupid buttons everyone seemed to be wearing, and she was too well known already for her Bat Bogey Hex to be able to use it without getting caught. Instead, she tried to seek Harry out as much as possible for idle talk or company doing homework; it was the least she could do. More than once, he assured he was used to being stared at for one reason or another. And indeed, to look at him, Ginny had to admit that Harry seemed to be letting it all roll off his back.

She realized that some of Harry's bravado was an act when she came upon him late one night in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. He was alone, talking to Sirius through the Floo. Ginny couldn't say what had gotten her out of bed to come downstairs, and she knew she shouldn't eavesdrop, but the loneliness and worry in Harry's voice made her pause.

 _So Harry is worried about the first task. I should have suspected._

She just managed to jump back into the shadow of the staircase when her brother Ron came down from the boys' dorm. Their snapping words to each other broke her heart a little but she forced herself to stay hidden so she didn't make it worse.

But Harry's interrupted conversation with Sirius wouldn't leave her. She remembered how happy he had seemed, telling her about the letters he and Sirius wrote to each other, and that gave her an idea. She just needed to find some parchment.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It was the loss of Ron's support that was eating at Harry, Ginny knew. But getting her stubborn brother to see reason was a lot harder than she had thought. It didn't stop her from trying though.

"You can't really think Harry would want to be in this competition, can you Ron?" This was not the first time Ginny had asked him, and her patience was wearing thin. But she had decided to try a different tactic, and now, late one afternoon she and Ron were walking down to the Quidditch pitch to go for a fly; with no games this year, the pitch was more often empty. Maybe getting him alone would help Ron see reason.

Ron shrugged, a mulish look on his face. "He gets attention for everything. Why wouldn't he want it for this too?"

Ginny huffed with exasperation. "Exactly. He gets attention for everything, and it's never his doing. And you know better than anyone how much he hates it."

For a second, Ron looked uncertain. But just as quickly, his face closed up again. "It just figures he gets the glory."

"Glory? Really? People die during this thing and Harry is three years younger than the rest of them! No one has any idea what the Champions are going to face. It could be anything, cursed fire, giant spiders, dangerous spells . . . Charlie!"

"They are going to have to face Charlie?"

"No Ron," Ginny grabbed her brother's arm. "Look, isn't that Charlie, walking into the Forbidden Forest?"

Ron peered into the deepening gloom. "What is he doing here? And why didn't he tell us he was coming?"

Ginny started to jog towards her older brother's retreating back. "Come on, let's catch up to him. I have a feeling I know why he's here, and what the Champions are going to be facing in the first task."

They caught up to Charlie, but he wouldn't tell them outright what he was doing at Hogwarts. "I can't say anything, it's got to be a secret until the first task," he explained. At Ginny's piercing look, he sighed. "But yes, I assume you can guess what it relates to. Just don't tell anyone you know anything."

"But Harry is only a Fourth Year, how is he going to be able to handle a . . . you know?" asked Ginny. She noticed that even Ron looked a little troubled.

Charlie did too. "I have my orders. I can't say anything. But if I know you, Ginny, you can figure out a way around it. You have a lot of Fred and George in you." He gave his brother and sister a hug. "Now get out of here before I get in trouble. I've got a lot to do to get ready."

Ginny and Ron walked slowly back to the castle, all thoughts of flying forgotten. "We have to warn Harry," Ginny said.

"You heard Charlie, we can't tell anyone," said Ron. "It wouldn't be fair. Harry'll be fine. He always is."

"Facing a dragon, Ron? You think Harry will be fine facing a dragon?" Ginny was gratified to see her brother go quiet. Finally, he spoke.

"Maybe . . . maybe we could get Hagrid to say something to Harry. You know how bad he is at keeping his mouth shut. And if there are dragons anywhere around, I'm sure Hagrid is going to be involved. Just . . . just keep me mostly out of it."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Of course, Ron.

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After the first task was over, and Ron had finally come to his senses, Harry sought out Ginny.

"I heard you were the first one to find out about the dragons and you made sure Hagrid told me," he said. "Thanks. I don't think I would have survived if I hadn't known ahead of time."

"Ron helped too," Ginny said. Now that her brother was speaking to Harry again, she wanted to make sure it stayed that way.

"I know," Harry nodded. "I guess I understand why he got upset. I'm just glad he's speaking to me again."

"Not as half as glad as Hermione, I bet," said Ginny with a grin. "Have you and Ron joined SPEW yet?"

Harry groaned. "Don't talk about it. She's being totally mental about the house elves. Even Hagrid refused to join."

"Hagrid should know," Ginny agreed. "Have you figured out the clue for the second task yet?"

Harry frowned. "Not yet." He sat up and looked at her. "Hey, that reminds me, you wrote Sirius, didn't you?"

Ginny wiggled uncomfortably under his gaze. It had seemed a good idea at the time, reaching out to Harry's godfather and asking for advice about how to help Harry with the tournament. But now that Harry and Ron were talking again and Harry had survived the first task, she wondered if he would think she was being intrusive. "Umm," she began.

To her relief, Harry grinned. "That was really nice of you," he said. "And you did a good job of keeping the letter from being intercepted. 'Padfoot' said he could barely open it himself."

"Yeah, well, I figured you need all the help you can get," she teased. "He didn't write me back, and I was worried I messed up."

Harry shook his head. "Sirius thinks you are, to use his word, 'charming.' He will probably write back to you soon." Harry looked at the clock on the wall. "I have to go in a minute. Cedric told me he needed to talk to me about something, something about the next task. I told him about the dragons, so I guess he wants to make it up to me." He huffed. "He owes me double, actually. I told him about the dragons, and then he went and beat me to asking Cho Chang to the Yule Ball."

Ginny laughed. "This dance is really making you all crazy, isn't it?" Her voice grew sly. "So, Cho, huh? I guess you Seekers have to stick together. She's really cute."

Harry sighed. "Yeah. I was just too slow in my 'seeking' this time. Hey, do you want to go with me? Third Years aren't invited otherwise, right?"

"Right. Sure, I'll go with you. It would be fun."

"Maybe we can get your brother to ask Hermione. I know he has no idea what to do about a date."

Ginny snorted. "That's true. But Hermione has already been asked. She told me this morning."

Harry looked surprised. "She has? By who?"

Ginny waggled her eyebrows at him. "I can't tell you, you will need to ask her yourself."

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People seemed to make a bigger deal than Ginny expected about the fact that Harry was taking her to the Yule Ball. She couldn't exactly understand it, but from the snatches of conversations she heard, she finally surmised that certain girls must be jealous that she was going with Harry, or else still angry that Harry was getting more attention as a Champion. Why else would their conversations choke to a halt when she approached?

She and her roommates spent hours discussing what they were going to wear, who everyone else had paired up with, and how far some of those couples might go. Ginny convinced Ron to ask Demelza, and she braced herself to have to discuss with her roommate what it would be like to date her brother.

But, it was weird. She and Demelza were giggling about the state of Ron's dress robes and discussing the possibility of sneaking into his room to try to Transfigure them into something more acceptable, when Ginny mentioned that Harry would be wearing bottle green himself. "It's going to be fun," she'd mentioned casually. "Harry and I haven't spent so much time together lately. Not since my brother agreed to start talking to him again, at least. And we used to spend a lot of time hanging out."

Demelza looked confused. "I thought . . . " she started to say. She stopped and shook her head, as if trying to clear water from her ear. "Never mind," she said quietly.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Meanwhile, Sirius had, as Harry predicted, written Ginny back. The letter had apparently been written before the first task; Ginny was heartened to see how accurate the man's advice and predictions had been.

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _I very much enjoyed your letter; as I'm sure you can imagine, it gets rather lonely here. Harry is very lucky to have a friend as caring and lovely as you are, particularly at a time when his friend Ron is being less than supportive. But I guess you know Ron as well as Harry does, don't you? I hope you agree that Ron will come to his senses sooner or later – and probably sooner, if his tough little sister has anything to say about it, right?_

 _In the meantime, I don't have any specific advice about how to help Harry, but definitely keep your ears open. There is always interesting information to be learned when people don't know you are listening. And keep practicing your Patronus! Yes, Harry told me he taught you the charm. It's a mighty useful spell to have when you are feeling down. As dark as things are feeling right now, I can't help but think we are going to need all the cheering up we can get._

 _Take care, and please write me again!_

 _Yours, Padfoot_

Ginny smiled every time she thought of the letter; she could not begin to imagine growing up without her parents and she was happy to know that Harry finally had someone looking out for him, even from afar. She vowed to do what Sirius asked, keep her ears open and keep practicing her Patronus. Her latest happy memory was from just the night before, sitting with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, listening to them take the mickey out of each other about the Yule Ball. Hermione was still being tight-lipped about her date and it was driving Ron crazy. Harry and Ginny had been cracking up, egging him on, a tactic that worked well until Ron had turned on them about the fact that Harry had asked Ginny.

" _We've been over this like a dozen times. She couldn't have gone otherwise." Harry was still chuckling over Ron's latest guess about Hermione's date. It's not Hagrid, Ronald!_

" _And this way, I can watch Cedric's moves with Cho. Figure out what works and what doesn't for when Harry moves in," Ginny teased._

 _Harry groaned. "It had to be Cedric, didn't it? I don't have a chance."_

" _It's more likely than Fleur Delacour saying yes to Ron," Ginny giggled._

That had set them off completely, Ron had spilled ink all over his Potions essay, and the conversation had generally ended there. But it still caused Ginny to dissolve into laughter at the memory, and she was pleased to be able to produce thicker silvery smoke this time. The Ball was likely to be a lot of fun; maybe she would get still more happy memories from it.

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 _Dear Red (I think you need a nickname too)._

 _Yes, I heard all about the Yule Ball. I'm glad Harry didn't step on your feet too much while dancing; I imagine it was hard for the poor bloke to pay attention to you while mooning over Cho at the same time. Thanks for keeping him in line. More importantly, the conversation the two of you overheard was quite . . . enlightening. I won't say more now, but I have made contact with several other people who will be interested to hear what old Severus had to say._

 _I'm going to be on the move soon; I think I need to get myself closer to Hogwarts. Tell Harry not to worry, I'll be fine._

 _In the meantime, have him look up the properties of a plant called Gillyweed. I think it is just what he is looking for._

 _Yours, Padfoot._

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As Winter faded into Spring and the third task approached, Ginny couldn't shake a vague sense of unease. She, along with her brother and Hermione were helping Harry learn and practice jinxes and hexes during every free moment; it seemed that finally, his three fewer years of magical education was going to be a real detriment. Ginny had seen Percy at the castle several times; he was pompous as ever, but she thought there was also something odd about his behavior but she couldn't put her finger on it. And she continued to keep a close eye on both Professor Snape and Karkaroff; if Sirius had been concerned about their conversation, it was likely something to worry about.

She tried to keep her concerns mostly to herself so she didn't distract Harry from his practicing. It mostly worked, until late one afternoon when they were in an empty classroom. Harry was flipping through a book of advanced jinxes and Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were throwing them at him as quickly as they could. It was hard work for all of them, involving wand and spell work not usually taught until Sixth Year. Hermione sent a new hex at Harry and two enormous snakes flew out of the end of her wand.

Ginny screamed, feeling like she was about to pass out. The snakes were slithering everywhere; one reared up to bite her and she couldn't raise her wand to protect herself. She barely heard Harry's voice or saw him move; the next thing she knew, she was sitting on the ground with Harry's concerned green eyes looking down at her.

"Ginny, are you okay? They are gone, don't worry. No one was ever in danger. Snakes are something I'm good at, remember?" Harry's voice seemed to come from far away.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry. I had no idea there would be two of them. I didn't mean to upset you." Hermione was speaking too.

Ginny shook her head as it slowly cleared. "I'm fine," she said shakily.

Harry helped her to her feet and gave her a hug. "By the time this is over, I think all four of us will be ready for that damn maze," he said with a small laugh. He peered more closely at her. "Want to try a Patronus? It would be good practice while you are feeling upset."

Ginny shrugged. "I'm not sure I have a happy memory right now."

Harry smirked. "How about thoughts of kissing? I seem to recall seeing you and a certain Ravenclaw bloke enjoying each other's lips before curfew the other night."

"Wha. . . what? Kissing? Ginny, who were you kissing? Ravenclaw?" Ron sputtered, his head moving rapidly back and forth between Harry and Ginny.

Ginny sighed. "Thanks, Harry. If you didn't realize, I hadn't told my brother yet." She turned to Ron. "Yes, I am dating Michael Corner. Yes, we have kissed. And no, it is none of your business." She looked at Harry. "I don't know that I'm feeling up to a Patronus right now. Maybe later."

The group broke up after that and Ginny walked slowly back to her dorm. Her fear of snakes didn't seem to be getting better; she was going to have to try harder. She just hoped that none of them made an appearance as part of the Third Task.

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Ginny leaned heavily against her brother Bill, trying not to cry. To say the mood in the infirmary was shocked and tense was an understatement. The arrival of Professor Moody with the news that the man who had been impersonating him all year was a Death Eater had pushed everyone nearly to the edge. And now they were waiting, silently, for answers.

Harry's arrival with Dumbledore did little to ease Ginny's mind. He appeared exhausted and nearly shell-shocked, leaning on a large black dog that Ginny realized with a start must be Sirius. Harry fell heavily into a bed and the dog rubbed his head against Ginny's hand with a comforting motion before curling up on the floor. Ginny relaxed a fraction, knowing Harry had his godfather to watch over him while he slept.

It was just getting quiet when Professor McGonagall burst in with Cornelius Fudge and news that Barty Crouch Jr. had been kissed by a Dementor. Harry woke up and began arguing with the Minister, his face pale but determined. Ginny unconsciously moved closer to him as he spoke, and noticed that Sirius was also there; his head resting against Harry's side. Harry gave them both a small smile and Ginny put her hand on Sirius' back. Everything was about to change. She didn't know what it meant, but she knew that Harry was going to need her support even more than ever in the coming days.


	4. Chapter 3

_Dear Harry,_

 _You have to promise to destroy this letter as soon as you get it; I'm not supposed to be writing you anything important. You've likely guessed that from the news-free notes from Ron and Hermione, but what can I say? I think letting you know what's going on is more important than Dumbledore's rules._

 _I can't actually tell you very much – I can't even tell you where we are right now. I want to, but . . . I literally can't. You will find out soon enough, I suspect. Not much is going on. At least, they don't tell us anything important. We are mostly doing manual labor. It's exactly as fun as it sounds. There are a lot of adults here, mostly who you would expect. Some are greasier than others, if you know what I mean._

 _The good thing is that I get to see Padfoot. He's pretty furious about you not being here and he's trying to change that as soon as possible. He and mum don't really see eye to eye on a lot of things. It's fun to watch and try to predict who is going to come out on top in their arguments._

 _I have been working on my Patronus charm; this . . . where we are, has some of my 'favorite' friends, if you know what I mean. The happiest thing I can think about right now is getting you here with the rest of us. Wish me luck! I'm supposed to be telling you to stay out of trouble and let the grownups take care of everything, but I'll save that sort of rubbish for Ron and Hermione's letters._

 _Your friend, Ginny._

HPHPHPHPHPHP

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Holy shit – Dementors! Are you really okay? Mrs. Figg says you are, but still, that must have been horrible. I just can't believe it. Padfoot almost went mental; it took the efforts of Bill, my dad, and Remus to keep him from Apparating straight to you. Even now, they are keeping a close eye on him._

 _Hermione says not to worry about the hearing; I'm sure she has a million reasons she read in some book that you are going to be fine. I hope she is right._

 _Anyway, I suspect I'm going to see you really shortly. In the meantime, trip Dudley for me._

 _Your friend, Ginny._

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPH

She didn't know until after everyone had left that this was the day some of the Order was going to rescue Harry. For the first time, Ginny felt a little twinge of nervousness about writing him over the summer. What if she had told him something she shouldn't have? Granted, none of them who were underage knew much of anything, but still, she paced silently in the bedroom she shared with Hermione until she heard Mrs. Black screaming downstairs and knew they had all arrived.

Ginny walked down the hall to the room Harry and Ron were to share; her brother and Hermione were there waiting. Harry appeared seconds later, looking mulish. Ginny only had a moment to give him a look that she hoped conveyed his need to keep their correspondence quiet before he started yelling.

He was angry at Ron and Hermione about their silence all summer and listening to him rant, Ginny finally felt some relief about her decision to give him information in her letters. Harry wasn't dumb; he included her when he berated them all about the unfairness of keeping things from him, and Ginny had to bite back a grin. She added her apologies to those of Ron and Hermione.

"We are so, so sorry," Harry. "Dumbledore made us promise not to tell you anything," she said in the most serious voice she could muster. She didn't think she could manage near tears like Hermione, but her voice sounded properly upset, she thought.

"Yeah, well, the least one of you could have done is write me a letter telling me you were all together and what you were doing!" Harry had his back turned to Ron and Hermione and he gave Ginny a tiny wink. She put her head down in apparent shame, but really, she was trying not to laugh.

Around the time Fred and George showed up with Extendable Ears to try to eavesdrop on the Order meeting, Harry decided that her brother and Hermione had suffered enough. Her mum had put an Impeturbable Charm on the kitchen door, but when they finally were allowed in for supper, things got more interesting. Unfortunately, it meant that Ginny was sent to her room without any of the others, and she stomped upstairs angrily. _Little Ginny, not able to handle the important news again._

But her misery was short-lived and ended with a knock on her door.

"You weren't lying, Ginny, your mum and Sirius are fun to watch." Harry was standing there grinning at her. "Can I come in? I think of everyone, you deserve to have me tell you what's going on." She motioned him into the room and then listened with growing concern about Voldemort, his attempts to recruit more followers, and his apparent desire to find a weapon this time, something that would be effective against the opposition.

"But that's all horrible!" Ginny said with a shudder. "Does the Order know what the weapon is?"

"It didn't sound like they do," said Harry heavily. "But it sounds bad. It's something they didn't have last time."

"What's different from last time?" Ginny mused. "I'll have to think about that."

Harry grinned. "Right. You get on that and let me know when you figure out what even Dumbledore doesn't know."

Ginny swatted at him. "Prat." Then she turned serious. "They can't find you guilty of that Dementor attack, can they? Hermione says . . ."

"I know what Hermione says," said Harry with a sigh. "I dunno. I told Sirius that if I'm chucked out of Hogwarts, I'll come live with him."

Ginny's reply was interrupted by the arrival of Hermione informing them that Mrs. Weasley was on her way upstairs and everyone had better be in their own bedrooms before there was hell to pay. Ginny gave Harry a small smile as he left. That night, she stayed awake for a long time, thinking about what kind of weapon Voldemort might be trying to get that he didn't have last time.

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A week later, Ginny came down to the kitchen early, to find her mum bustling nervously and Sirius pacing.

"So they've already left for the hearing?" she asked, feeling disappointed. She had wanted to see Harry before he went. Sirius nodded tersely.

"It doesn't start for a couple of hours, but Arthur thought it might be a good idea to . . ." his comment was broken off by the appearance of a silvery weasel dropping out of the ceiling. Ginny squeaked in surprise.

"Shh," said Sirius, as the weasel began to speak.

" _Hearing moved earlier. Just barely made it on time. Harry there now. More news when I have it_." The weasel faded away.

"That, that sounded like dad!" said Ginny. "Was that a Patronus?"

Sirius nodded. "Something the Order developed. Damn useful for communicating across long distances."

"Harry has been teaching me to cast a regular Patronus," said Ginny with some pride. "I'm not that good at it yet, I've only made silvery smoke, but I'm getting better. I can't wait to find out what my animal is." She had spoken without thinking and a crash from across the room startled her.

"And why would you need to learn such advanced magic?" broke in her mum. She had dropped a cup into the sink and now she turned around to look at Ginny. "I don't expect you will be spending too much time around Dementors, now will you?"

Ginny groaned to herself. She should have been more careful. Until then, Harry teaching her the Patronus charm had been a secret between them. She should have realized her mum would take it wrong.

"The Patronus can be used for more than repelling Dementor's, Molly." Sirius spoke mildly and Ginny remembered that Harry had already told Sirius about their lessons; it made her feel warm inside to have Harry's godfather stick up for her. "It's a projection of all that is good in your heart and your mind; that is powerful magic that can fight against all sorts of dark thoughts and forces. Not to mention the usefulness of the talking Patronus we just saw."

Ginny gave Sirius a grateful smile. "I was just helping Harry with his practicing, Mum," she said. "It's not a bad thing to learn – I'll be ahead when we get to that lesson in DADA."

Her mum didn't look entirely convinced, but the arrival of Ron and Hermione in the kitchen and Ron's plaintive request for breakfast took precedence over her desire to continue lecturing Ginny about her Patronus lesson.

They all celebrated that night when Harry arrived back home with the news of his acquittal. He was happy and relieved, but Ginny saw him mutter something to Ron under his breath, and by his expression, she suspected that not everything had gone well at the hearing.

It was late before Ginny learned more, and it had required a lot of silent sneaking up and down the stairs before she was sitting with Hermione in Harry and Ron's room.

"Dumbledore was there, he gave testimony on my behalf. I think that is what convinced everyone not to convict me." Despite the fact that his words should have boded well, Harry was wringing his hands.

Ron seemed to notice as well. "So what's wrong with that, mate?"

Harry took a breath before answering. "It's silly, really, but . . . he didn't stop to talk to me afterwards. He wouldn't even look at me. It was like he didn't even want to acknowledge I was there."

"Maybe he had someplace to be?" asked Hermione hesitantly.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe. But it didn't seem like that." He winced suddenly, putting his hand to his forehead.

"Harry?" asked Ginny. He looked pale all of a sudden.

After another minute, Harry's face cleared. "Happens all the time now," he said with forced casualness. He gave Ginny a look that she interpreted to mean she had something else to think about, in addition to what Voldemort might be using as a weapon: why Dumbledore was ignoring him. She gave him a tiny nod back and the huffed in agreement with Ron, who was blustering about Harry's report that he'd seen Lucius Malfoy chatting up Fudge after the hearing. She would have to talk to Harry more later on.

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The last few days before they left for school passed in a blur. Ginny finally had the chance to show Harry how far she had gotten in producing her Patronus; it still didn't have a real shape, but the mist was so thick you couldn't see through it. "What is your happy thought?" he asked her after applauding her effort.

"The fact that you get to come back to school and that it makes Fudge angry to have to let you," she said with a grin.

Harry chuckled. "He certainly wasn't happy." But then his face grew serious. "I can't believe he's being so stubborn about Voldemort coming back. Doesn't he know how many people are likely to die because of his refusal to see the truth?"

"It's hard to admit you are wrong, even when the evidence is staring you in the face," said Ginny. "Look at Percy. Bill reckons Percy knows that You-Know-Who is back, but he is too stubborn, or proud, to admit he was wrong. So instead, he's sticking with the Ministry's story."

"I remember the Boggart your mum saw," said Harry. "I know she's thinking about Percy a lot." He took a deep breath. "Enough of this," he said briskly. "I expect that the next time you show me your Patronus, it will have a real form. Maybe Gryffindor's fabulous success in Quidditch will be just the happy thought you need."

"I'm counting on it," said Ginny.

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Ginny watched as Harry's shoulders slumped when he realized that Ron and Hermione had prefect duties on the train; she didn't think he had ever traveled to Hogwarts without them. He agreed with her suggestion to find a compartment. They ended up sitting with Luna Lovegood and Neville, chatting aimlessly and then dodging Neville's Stinksap plant when there was movement at the door of their compartment.

"Uh, hi Harry." Ginny thought Cho Chang sounded a bit hesitant to interrupt them. And Harry looked mortified to have her see him covered in Stinksap goo.

Ginny thought quickly. "Scourgify!" she said, waving her wand. As soon as the mess was gone she pointed at Harry. "Cho wants to talk to you – go find her," she told him. Harry looked blankly at her.

"Uhh, what? She does? How do you know?"

"Because I'm a girl, Harry. Go ask her how she's doing. Be sensitive about Cedric. Offer to buy her a licorice wand. Talk about Quidditch, anything! Just go!"

Harry stumbled to his feet. "Umm. Right. Okay. Quidditch." He looked back at them. "I'll just umm . . . "

"Harry, go!"

Ginny was gratified to see Harry take her advice and leave the compartment. The poor boy needed a distraction, and given all the muttering about him Ginny had heard on the train, he was also going to need as many friends as possible. Cho was pretty and popular. Dating her could help people decide to support Harry, despite what the Ministry was saying. Ginny stood up too.

"I'm going to go find Michael," she said.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Over the next few months, Ginny thought privately to herself that the only time Harry looked anything close to happy was when he was with Cho. Ginny had been right; getting Harry to date her had eased some of the pressure he was feeling being surrounded by people who thought he was a nutter, a liar, or worse.

He stumbled into the Gryffindor common room just before curfew looking particularly disheveled one night in October and Ginny bit back a snort. "Looks like you had a good night, Potter," she said.

Harry smirked at her. "I could say the same for you, given what I saw in the third floor secret passageway," he said under his breath.

Ginny grinned back. "Maybe we can go on a double date or something next Hogsmede weekend," she said.

Their whispers were interrupted by Hermione's huff of frustration. This time, Ginny had to agree with her about the sad state their DADA education had taken, and the conversation turned, not for the first time, to what they all might do about it. The four of them talked late into the night, planning. It felt good to finally be doing something.

 _Dear Snuffles,_

 _I hope you are staying warm; the weather here finally feels like winter is coming. I hope this school owl finds you well. I picked a particularly drab looking one because for some reason, white owls are getting attacked in the sky! It has people rather spooked. But no one seems particularly interested in what a stupid Fourth Year girl has to say to her sweet doggie._

 _We've had quite a time here. Did you hear that I'm the new Gryffindor Seeker? The original one had to take a break. He's working especially hard on DADA lessons in preparation for his OWLs – they have given him an 'army' of homework. I hope he can teach me and some of the others what he knows; he is especially good at that class. I did get the chance to fly with him so that he could show me some tricks; I think it really relaxed him to get back up in the air._

 _Speaking of the former Seeker, did you know he has a girlfriend? I'm sure he'd want me to tell you, haha. She is in Ravenclaw and she's very pretty. I think he is teaching her DADA too, if you know what I mean._

 _I'm looking forward to Christmas next month when I finally get to see you again. I'll bring you a new bone as a gift._

 _Love, Ginny_

Ginny looked critically at her letter. After Hedwig had been attacked and Hermione figured out that Umbridge was trying to read Harry's mail, Ginny had decided to write Sirius herself; it was true that no one seemed to care who she was sending owls to. She hoped he could somehow understand her cryptic message about what Harry was up to in teaching the DA; those secret lessons had rapidly become Ginny's favorite thing to do at school. Playing Seeker was wonderful too, but the fact that she only had the position because Harry had been banned from the team dampened her enthusiasm a bit.

Ginny sealed the letter shut with a tap of her wand and left to go find a sufficiently boring-appearing owl. She was meeting Michael to practice some of the spells Harry had been teaching them in the DA. It annoyed Ginny a little bit that Michael got cranky every time she disarmed him; Demelza had suggested just letting him win once in a while but Ginny had refused. Letting a boy win just to massage his ego was definitely not her style.

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _Thank you so much for your letter; I just wish you could have put some kibble in there as well. Congrats on being named Seeker! I am sure you will be just as fabulous as the original one. It's too bad he had to take a break, but it sounds like things are very busy for him._

 _Tell me because I forgot; when do they teach the Patronus charm at Hogwarts these days? It's a dead useful spell to know for many reasons. And once you master the regular spell, did you know there is a way to make them talk? Maybe I can show you the spell when I see you over Christmas. It would be a good thing for some of your friends to learn too._

 _I hear from reliable sources that there seems to be a number of Gryffindo-Ravenclaw relationships right now. I hope you are all enjoying yourselves. Within reason, of course._

 _Take care and write me back soon._

 _Your friend,_

 _Snuffles_

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The next DA session was their best yet. Everyone had mastered disarming spells and was making good progress on their shield charms and a introductory hexes such as Stupefy. Ginny sidled into the room just as Harry was quieting everyone down so he could introduce their next lesson. He raised his eyebrow at her hand, still clasped in Michael's but said nothing. She huffed to herself. Snogging had been fun, but what they were doing with the DA was more important. She wouldn't let Michael distract her as much next time.

At Ginny's suggestion, Harry had decided to teach everyone the Patronus charm. Everyone was excited; it was advanced magic usually not taught until students' 6th year. He explained the theory behind the charm and its utility for battling Dementors.

"It also can be used to help fight other types of bad feelings; fear, sadness, stress, things like that," Harry said. He closed his eyes and smiled to himself. A minute later, his stag shot out of his wand to the collective amazement of the group.

"It took me a long time to learn," he said modestly. "And I had a bit of extra incentive, what with the Dementors breathing down my neck." He grinned and gestured to Ginny.

"Want to demonstrate?" he asked. "I know you haven't quite got a full Patronus yet, but you are really far along. I think it will be helpful to see."

Ginny nodded and walked to the front of the room. She closed her eyes and thought of the day she and Harry had snuck out to go flying after he had been kicked off the Quidditch team. He had been near shock at Umbridge's decision – furious and depressed all at once. Ginny had cajoled him into the air so that he could teach her a few Seeking moves and they had spent a wonderful half an hour flying, just the two of them. They had landed with the promise to try to do it again, but so far, hadn't been able to find the time.

Even before she opened her eyes, Ginny knew the charm felt different this time, a fact that was confirmed by the collective oohs and ahhs of the assembled DA members.

"It's a horse! Ginny, you made a horse!" Harry sounded almost as excited as she was. Ginny watched fondly as the horse cantered around the room before disappearing. The DA surged to congratulate her before spreading out to practice on her own. It only occurred to her later that Michael had not said anything about her achievement.

While everyone was working, Ginny sought out Harry.

He grinned at her. "That was amazing, Gin," he said.

She shrugged. "You're a good teacher." She lowered her voice. "Snuffles told me that over Christmas he wants to start teaching me the speaking Patronus charm. It could be useful for all of us.

Harry nodded, eyes now half trained on Cho. "Good idea, Ginny. You ask Sir . . . I mean, Snuffles about that."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I will, Harry."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

She was jerked awake suddenly. Professor McGonagall loomed over her bed and Ginny shook her head in confusion. "Pro . . . Professor?" she asked uncertainly.

"Get up, quickly, Miss Weasley. I can't explain now. Don't take time to dress. We need to go to the headmaster's office immediately. There has been an . . . an . . . accident. Harry saw you father get injured."

Ginny barely remembered the walk to Dumbledore's office. She latched onto Harry's white face when she and the twins arrived. Harry looked awful, sweating and shaky as if he had just been sick.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Not now, Miss Weasley," said Dumbledore. He gestured to an old teakettle on his desk. "If you would all touch this please. We need to get you to Gimmauld Place."

Ginny was standing next to Harry. At the very second the Portkey activated, she felt Harry jerk next to her and make a tiny, hissing sound of anger. Ginny's stomach dropped. _It sounded like a snake._

Things did not get better when they arrived in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. The hissing was gone, and Ginny hoped she had imagined it. But then Harry started speaking, telling them that he'd had a vision of her dad being attacked; that he actually had been attacked. By a snake. Ginny's stomach turned over again. Her dad had been bitten badly, he was bleeding somewhere, and a snake had done it.

She gave a low moan and staggered over to vomit in the sink. Everyone jumped up. Harry was the closest; out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw him take two hesitating steps towards her. She couldn't stop herself from recoiling and he stopped, a tortured look on his face. Ginny forced herself to take a deep breath, trying to will away the vision of her father.

Sirius stepped up with a towel and a glass of water. "Sit down," he said gently, guiding her to a chair. Ginny sat heavily and put her face in her hands.

"Could you, maybe . . .?" Harry was speaking. It sounded like he was still across the room.

Ginny looked up.

". . . . try a Patronus?" Harry was saying. "You know, since it helps when you are sad or scared or . . ."

Ginny shook her head quickly and Harry quieted, looking upset.

Sirius jumped in. "It's okay, you may not have a happy thought right now, but I'm sure we are going to get good news soon."

Harry slumped at his godfather's words. "Sorry, Ginny," he said quietly.

"It's okay," she quickly assured him. "Really. I'm fine." Oddly, lying to reassure Harry that she was okay (when she wasn't), did more to make her feel better than anything else. Her stomach settled and the dark thoughts of snakes swirling in her brain slowly evaporated.

"I'll try a Patronus later," she said to Sirius. "Right now I just want to hear about dad."

He nodded, putting his hand gently on her shoulder. "Of course you do."

Fortunately, the good news that her father was going to be okay came only minutes later. Amidst the happy tumult of the kitchen Ginny noticed Harry slip unnoticed out of the room. She thought about following him, but stopped. Despite knowing that her father was going to be okay, Ginny wasn't convinced that she was completely over her earlier panic. It wouldn't be fair to lay that burden on Harry when he apparently still felt guilty about being the one to see her dad get hurt. As daft as Harry was being – if he had not seen the attack, her dad likely would have bled to death before being found – he obviously felt he had done something wrong. Ginny vowed to set him straight as soon as she was sure she wouldn't make it worse.

Later, when Ginny learned exactly why Harry felt so guilty - _He thought he 'was' the snake! –_ she felt even worse for not going right to him. The poor boy assumed he was being possessed, something Ginny knew more about than most. "Next time, just ask me, Harry," she told him. "I'm the only one here who has actually been possessed, remember?" She didn't exactly roll her eyes at him, but the intent was certainly there.

Harry looked sheepish. "I'm so sorry, Gin. I didn't mean to forget."

Ginny waved him off. "You've had a lot on your mind." She let her expression grow sly. "And on your lips, I think, right?"

"You should talk, Miss 'late to a DA meeting' Weasley," retorted Harry.

Ginny was happy to see him becoming more himself as the days went by. And while she had stopped hearing hissing snakes in her head every time she was alone, Ginny knew her nerves had not settled completely. After finally getting to visit her dad at St. Mungos, and being reassured that he was actually okay, Ginny had sought out Sirius.

"I think I'm ready to start learning the talking Patronus," she said. "I know Harry has a lot on his mind right now, but hopefully I'll be able to learn it first and then teach him."

Sirius hadn't questioned Ginny's motivation, but had reiterated the importance of banishing bad thoughts for the spell to work properly. "It both requires positive thoughts and, if successful, creates them too," he explained. "Now, let's try again. Focus on your dad's recovery."

It was harder than Ginny had thought, to learn how to make her fledgling Patronus speak. By the time they were all ready to return to Hogwarts, Ginny had finally succeeded in sending a message from her room down to the kitchen. Five minutes later, Ron appeared, looking rather disgruntled. "Here's your tea," he said. "Next time, just come down and get it, okay?"

"Thanks Ron," said Ginny. "I'm glad you got the message.

"Yeah, well, it's pretty cool that you figured out how to do it. You should start helping Harry teach the DA or something," he said.

Ginny shrugged. "If Harry wants me to help, I will. I might just teach him though. He'll be a lot better at showing all of you. His Patronus is much stronger than mine."

But as it turned out, Ginny didn't have a lot of time to see Harry outside of DA meetings when they returned to school. Now that Owls were getting closer, the Fifth Years were working harder than ever. And Ginny was was happy to see that Harry had apparently stopped brooding about being the one to see her father get hurt. He was spending a lot of time with Cho and seemed to be enjoying himself.

Over Valentine's Day, she and Michael even joined them at Madam Puddifoot's They were careful to speak of the DA only in hushed code but had a much better time when the discussion turned to Quidditch. Cho was an ardent Tornados fan and she chided Harry gently about his dedication to Puddlemere United. It was obviously a discussion they'd had before and soon, all four of them were laughing, particularly when Ginny revealed her brother's dedication to the Cannons.

Eventually, Harry had to leave – reluctantly – to go see Hermione and Rita Skeeter. He and Cho "said goodbye" for so long that Ginny considered sending a stinging hex at them. The other three walked slowly back to the castle. Michael and Cho kept up a running conversation about Quidditch, but Ginny was thinking again about the DA, and when she would have time to teach Harry how to make his Patronus speak.

In the end, Ginny never got the chance to teach Harry. Only a couple of weeks after Valentine's Day, Marietta Edgecomb told Umbridge about the DA and she and Cho got into a loud and public row in the Great Hall. Cho went crying to Harry and everyone was in an uproar over rumors that Dumbledore had escaped Ministry arrest by disappearing in a puff of smoke and flame.

Things were getting darker at the school and with the disbanding of the DA, its former members were too scared to talk in anything larger than groups of two or maybe three; Umbridge remained firmly determined to catch one of them in something illegal. Ginny desperately wanted to talk to Sirius – she knew Harry's visions had been getting worse – but her fear of getting caught prevented her from doing anything. Still, she couldn't shake the terrible feeling that something bad was going to happen.

It came when the Fifth Years were taking their OWLS. Ginny had been hanging around the doors to the Great Hall, ostensibly waiting for Michael to finish, but in truth, even more concerned about Harry.

And when he stumbled out of his final exam before it ended, his face white as a ghost, Ginny's heart dropped. _Something has happened._

But before she could even approach, Harry had bolted in the direction of the hospital wing.

Ginny grabbed Ron and Hermione when they left their exam ten minutes later and the three of them sat tensely, soon joined by Luna and Neville.

And when Harry returned with the news of Sirius' capture and torture by Voldemort and the fact that no members of the Order remained at Hogwarts to warn, Ginny felt her knees give way. Only Hermione's quick thinking to conjure a cushion for Ginny to fall on prevented her from crashing to the stone floor.

Conversation swirled around her but Ginny couldn't focus. She could only see Sirius in her mind, in pain at the hand of Voldemort. She had come to care for him almost as much as Harry did over the past year, and the thought of him being tortured was almost too much for her to bear.

But falling into her familiar panic would not help. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and listened to Harry and the others try to figure out how to confirm if Sirius was really in trouble.

It came to her in an instant. "I can . . . I can sent a talking Patronus," she said shakily, feeling five sets of eyes suddenly looking at her.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

They snuck off to the Room of Requirement where it was quiet. Ginny closed her eyes and focused as hard as she could on the particularly nice snog she and Michael had shared just the day before outside the kitchens. When her horse appeared, Ginny closed her eyes again and focused on the feel of Michael's lips on hers while she spoke the message to Sirius, begging him to contact her immediately.

She couldn't tell if it was working, but she didn't want to say anything. Harry was counting on her. Sirius was counting on her. Better to be wrong and try to save someone who didn't need to be saved than to fail to go and let Sirius be tortured.

The horse was gone by the time Ginny opened her eyes.

Sirius did not respond.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

It was only when the six of them arrived at the Department of Mysteries and very definitely did not find Sirius there that Ginny allowed the little bubble of doubt to break into her thoughts. Harry tore down the aisle in the room full of glass orbs, so certain that he'd find his godfather at any second that Ginny couldn't bear to admit that maybe her Patronus had never reached the man. Hogwarts was a long way from London . . .

And then, suddenly, they were all fighting for their lives against the Death Eaters and Ginny knew it was all her fault. Buying herself only a few seconds of time with a well-placed Reducto curse, she ducked behind a shelf and forced herself to focus. This time, unbidden, an image of Harry laughing on Valentine's Day rose into her mind. It was the last time she really remembered him laughing.

Her horse felt stronger, and when she sent it to Sirius, this time begging for help, she knew it would reach its mark. He would be there soon, she knew. She only hoped it was soon enough.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

White hot anger overflowed inside Ginny, so strong that for a moment, it even masked the pain. She chased after Harry and Bellatrix, ran faster than she had ever run before, as if catching the woman before she left the room could somehow reverse things, somehow make it so that Sirius wasn't really dead.

He had come to their rescue, just as Ginny had known he would. And he had brought members of the Order too. The tide of the battle had turned and Sirius had even had time to give Ginny a quick one-armed hug before moving to battle next to Harry against Bellatrix and the others.

And then, suddenly, he was gone and Ginny had watched as Harry's face had gone white with shock and pain.

 _I killed Sirius Black! I killed Sirius Black!_

The voice would not leave Ginny's head. And then suddenly they were in the Atrium of the Ministry. And Dumbledore was there. And Voldemort.

As soon as Ginny saw him, saw his snakelike face so different from that of Tom Riddle, she couldn't remember anything else. A statute had moved to keep her back much as it was doing for Harry across the room, but Ginny was barely aware of it. She may have screamed, she may have gotten sick, she may have collapsed. But all the while, she felt forced to watch as the snake battled and swirled and slithered and hissed and got closer and closer to Harry. And then he was gone and Ginny heard Dumbledore's voice calling, sounding more frightened that she ever could have thought possible.

She saw Harry. He was still trapped behind a gold statue and his face was etched with a mask of pain like nothing Ginny had ever seen. She was certain he was going to die and all she wanted in that moment was for it to happen quickly, for Harry not to be in pain a minute longer. Death itself would be better than what she saw. She just hoped that Harry would be joined with Sirius and his parents again.

And when it was over, truly over, and she knew that Harry was not going to die, Ginny ran. Healers and Aurors were pouring into the Mininistry and Ginny found one and begged the man to send her back to Hogwarts, to let Madam Pomfrey fix her injuries. For certainly, Harry would go to St. Mungo's. Certainly, she wouldn't have to see him and see the blame in his eyes. His godfather was dead and it was her fault.

What Ginny did not expect was that Harry and the others would also be sent back to Hogwarts, or that Dumbledore himself would soon return. She didn't know when Harry came into the infirmary, only that he was suddenly there, talking first to Neville and Luna, and then checking on her brother, whose tussle with the brains had been particularly harsh.

And then there was a weight at the end of her bed and a hand on her side and Ginny knew she couldn't hide anymore. She pushed herself into a sitting position and didn't even try to hide her tears as she apologized over and over.

"Ginny, stop." Harry's voice was firm but gentle. "It wasn't your fault."

"But I told you I could send a Patronus to Sirius and I couldn't!" she said. "I should have known it wasn't strong enough to make it all the way to London. We should have found some other way to . . ." she couldn't continue, grief and guilt mingling again.

But Harry was shaking his head. "Your Patronus did make it to London," he said. "Both of them. But Kreacher, he was waiting. He intercepted the first message before it every reached Sirius. I don't know how, house elves have special magic. He was waiting to make sure that Sirius never knew we were trying to reach him, no matter what we did. We were meant to go to the Ministry that night, and it's all my fault." He looked tortured as he spoke.

Ginny started to open her mouth but Harry shook his head.

"If I . . . if I had just studied Occlumency like Dumbledore asked, Voldemort wouldn't have been able to put the vision in my head in the first place. Or I didn't have that 'saving people thing', maybe it would have occurred to me that Voldemort would do anything to lure me away from Hogwarts." He shook his head. "If anything, it's my fault Sirius . . . died."

Ginny sighed and took Harry's hand in his. Her fear and panic had faded at Harry's distress and now she strived to find the words to make him feel better. And she knew she would, if it took her all summer. Harry simply had to stop feeling guilty.

"There's something else too," he said quietly, so quietly Ginny almost missed it. "About the prophecy. I . . . I need to tell you and Ron and Hermione. It's important."

"But the prophecy smashed . . ." Ginny started to say.

Harry shook his head, but whatever he intended to say next was interrupted when Cho flew into the infirmary and threw herself into Harry's arms, crying hysterically. Harry gave Ginny a quick goodbye before turning his attention completely to his girlfriend.

Ginny sighed and laid back against the pillows. Now that Harry was gone, the guilt she felt returned full force. A stronger Patronus would have made it past Kreacher, she was certain of it. No matter what Harry said, his godfather's death was at least partly her fault. And now Ginny was going to have to work even harder to make it up to Harry.


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: I never intended this story to be a retelling of the books, so I decided to skip ahead a year and get closer to the meat of the plot. I will fill in any of the HBP details that are important as needed. We are departing canon a bit, and will move even further away as the story continues. This chapter is from Harry's POV.

It seemed almost unbelievable, to be sitting again outside the Burrow mourning the loss of someone so important in his life. Dumbledore's death at the hands of Snape was completely incomprehensible still, and even Ron and Hermione's constant apologies for not believing the worst about Malfoy didn't alleviate the sting.

It was probably a good thing that he and Cho had finally broken up the week before Harry and Dumbledore had gone off to the cave to retrieve the Horcrux-that-wasn't. She had never hidden the fact that she was uncomfortable with Harry's fight against Voldemort, never mind the fact that he really didn't have a choice. But in the final month before their break up, Cho had revealed how much it all actually scared her; she really did not want to be around to watch Harry go the way of Cedric. Harry couldn't fault her for her fear; he was still constantly amazed that Ron, Hermione, and Ginny hadn't gone running the same way.

It had felt both a little odd and very normal to have Ginny sitting next to him at the funeral. Her breakup with Dean had been somewhat less amicable and Harry wasn't quite sure if Ginny needed a shoulder to cry on or if he was in any position to provide one. But Ginny had taken measure of the situation immediately and quietly told Harry that she wanted to help him in any way he needed in the coming year; she knew without his saying that he would not be coming back to school.

And now it was real. Two days until Bill and Fleur's wedding and then Harry, Ron, and Hermione were leaving to hunt Horcruxes and Ginny was going back to school.

She was still upset, Harry knew, about his refusal to tell her what he and the others were doing. Ron and Hermione had taken the news of the prophecy with predictable shock and horror. Hermione had started researching – what, Harry didn't know. Ron had blustered on and on about how it wasn't fair. Harry had come very, very close to including Ginny in their plans but had held back at the last minute. Dumbledore had told him he could include Ginny when he told the others about the prophecy and the Horcruxes, but Dumbledore had expected that he would still be Headmaster and helping guide the search too. It was probably safer to keep Ginny unaware for a little bit longer. Instead, Harry had told her vaguely to keep her eyes and ears open at school for "anything susipicious." It was the best he could think to do.

Now she joined Harry on the rock where he sat looking out over the pond.

To her credit, she didn't ask how he was doing. Instead, she plopped herself down beside him with a sigh.

"Has my mum tried to hide your things yet?"

"My things?"

Ginny nodded. "She seems to think that if you can't find your rucksack and camping things, you won't be able to leave."

"Ahh, umm, no. I don't think so. She hasn't said. Anyway, I think Hermione already took care of packing everything for us. I don't know where she's put it. I probably should ask her."

Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, Harry, you probably should."

Harry chuckled and they sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. But he knew he had a few things to say to her before the parted, and now seemed as good a time as any.

"I umm, think it's great you are going to be helping us," he said. "As much as you can." He tried to bite back his growing desire to blurt everything to her; to ask her to search for Horcruxes in between her classes.

"Of course I want to help!" Ginny sounded almost fanatical. "I know I can't come along with you, not with the Trace still on me, but I'll do whatever possible from school."

"That's great, Ginny. Thanks. I have some ideas I want to share with you. I just want to make sure it's not too much or anything."

Ginny shook her head firmly. "I need to do this, Harry. I know I haven't always been . . ."

"THERE YOU TWO ARE!" Mrs. Weasley's voice interrupted whatever Ginny had been about to say. Seconds later, the woman herself appeared. "Ginny, I need you in the kitchen helping me. Harry, there are a few last gnomes that need tending to in the garden. Hermione is polishing silverware and Ronald had better be clearing the path from the Apparition point. The Delacours will be here this afternoon!"

"Here we go," Ginny said in an undertone. They both stood up quickly.

Harry still had things that needed to be said to Ginny. "I'll, umm, find you later," he muttered as they went off in opposite directions.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I know I can't send this, but it makes me feel better to write to you anyway. I hope you all got dad's Patronus, wherever you are, and I'm sorry we never got the chance to properly say goodbye. We are all fine here, I mean, as fine as we can be. The Ministry stayed here forever, questioning the people who didn't Disapparate from the wedding. It's kind of scary that the Ministry and the Death Eaters are the same people now._

 _I really, wish I could contact you, though. I go back to school in a month and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing until then; if there is anything I need to do, I mean. Tell Hermione that I'm actually reading Hogwarts, A History right now. I seemed like a good idea to learn as much about the school as I could. Next I think I'm going to try to learn how to disillusion myself. It will come in handy if I'm out after curfew._

 _Harry, please be careful, all of you. The stories we've been hearing, they have been getting worse. I wish I could let you know not to use "You Know Who's" name anymore; it's been cursed. Hopefully you will hear that news while out doing whatever you are doing._

 _Your friend, Ginny_

Ginny read over the letter, nodded to herself, and then carefully lit the parchment on fire, watching her words burn into ash.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

 _Dear Harry,_

 _You were right not to tell me anything before you left; they gave us all Veritaserum before we were allowed into our common rooms! I'm pretty sure they took a lot longer questioning the Gryffindors than anyone else – some horrible Death Eater named Alecto Carrow questioned me for almost an hour. She was not happy that I did not know where you were or what you were doing. But now I'm at Hogwarts and I wish there was a way for you to let me know what you need me to do to help. I guess I'll just have to keep my eyes and ears open._

 _No Quidditch this year, which is not a surprise, but not being able to fly is going to make me crazy. They aren't even letting us take brooms out for fun or exercise. I guess it's too difficult to keep track of students in the air._

 _Neville, Luna and I are spending a lot of time together. We miss our "fearless leader" but we are doing our best to keep morale up. We've been practicing our Patronus charms; I think of you having great success at whatever it is you are doing and that makes me happy enough to cast my horse._

 _Be care and give my brother and Hermione my love._

 _Your friend, Ginny._

Burning the letter was more tricky at school than it had been at home, but Ginny managed to create a contained fire on the floor of her dorm. She looked at the tiny pile of ash and sighed to herself. The lack of communication with Harry and the others was difficult. She knew it was for their own safety, but Ginny felt rather impotent, stuck at school and not being able to help more.

A bell rang and Ginny started; it would not do to be late to class, not this year. She only hoped she could make it to Potions without seeing Draco Malfoy. That boy suddenly seemed to be everywhere she was, leering, and it was creepy. He seemed to be trying to look right into her thoughts.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Not for the first time, Harry missed Grimmauld Place. Funny how much one could long for the simple luxuries of being warm, dry, and fed when they were taken away. No matter how depressing the physical surroundings had been, Sirius' old house had provided those creature comforts in spades, and the place had felt secure to boot.

Now they had found another Horcrux, true, but at the expense of a home base, regular meals, and any feelings of safety.

He was wearing the locket as they sat around the campfire, trying to stave off the feelings of despair and worry that seemed to creep even closer than normal with the Horcrux so near. The tinned pasta they had managed to obtain from a small local grocer had helped a bit; indeed, Ron was looking rather cheerful. But Harry couldn't shake the feeling that they needed to be doing _more_.

"There must be one at Hogwarts," he said petulantly. This was not news to his companions; Harry mentioned trips to the school and Godric's Hollow with regularity; so far, Ron and Hermione had managed to talk him out of both excursions.

"We know," said Hermione patiently. "But it's more likely that he's got someone watching Godric's Hollow, and I have no idea how we might sneak back into the school right now."

"Ginny!" Harry spoke so forcefully that Ron whirled around, as if he expected to see his younger sister standing in the tent with them.

"What? Where?" he said in confusion. "I think maybe that locket is making you see things, mate."

Harry shook his head impatiently. "No, not here," he said. "But she's at the school, she could search for us. I think it's time that we tell her . . . " Hermione and Ron were already shaking their heads and Harry felt his enthusiasm fading away.

"Harry, even if we could figure out a way to get a secure message to her – which we can't – I don't think it would be safe to having her searching the school like that." Hermione spoke too reasonably, and it only made Harry's ire grow.

"But it could shorten the hunt . . ." he began, but then Ron interrupted.

"You heard what those wizards were talking about at the Ministry," Ron said. "They gave all the students truth serum when they got to school, to make sure they didn't know where you were. What if they do it again?"

"They won't," argued Harry, although deep down he knew he had no proof he was right. "I know Ginny would want to . . ."

"Of course Ginny would want to, but that doesn't mean we can put her in danger like that," said Ron. "Hogwarts will have to wait." He spoke with finality and Harry sagged, too tired to continue the discussion.

"Fine," he said sullenly, unwilling to let Ron have the last word. "But I know there's one there."

HPHPHPHPHPHP

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I can't believe how much has changed here. I knew it would be different, but I guess I pictured it as being more like the year Umbridge was here, with stupid rules and unfair policies. I thought it would still feel like Hogwarts. Instead, this place feels . . . evil. The professors, if you can call them that, don't care at all about teaching, unless it's teaching the Dark Arts and how to do Unforgivables._

 _Last week, Draco Malfoy used the Cruciatus Curse on me just because "I once fancied Harry Potter". Can you imagine anything so silly? Luckily Neville was walking by and "accidentally" tripped him. He also stopped me from jinxing Malfoy back. I know Neville's right that we need to watch ourselves, but I swear, Malfoy would have looked great with bats flying out of his nose._

 _Since I don't know how to help you with . . . whatever you are doing right now, Neville and Luna and I are trying to be subversives here on our own. Most of the students are too scared, but there are a few who are still trying to keep up the memory of Dumbledore's Army. Some days, it's the only thing that keeps me going._

 _I hope you all are staying safe and having a lot of success. Give my love to Hermione and Ron. I'd better end this now so I have time to burn it before class._

 _Your friend, Ginny_

HPHPHPHPHPHP

This time, Hermione had Apparated them far north; it was much chillier here than their last campsite near the coast. But it wasn't until the sun was fully up the next morning that Harry realized why the large lake down the hill from their tent looked so familiar.

"Is that . . . the lake by Hogwarts?" He came back into the tent and walked immediately to the stove to warm his hands.

Ron sat up in his bunk. He had just begun his 12 hour shift wearing the Horcrux and was already looking mutinous. "Hogwarts? Why are we at Hogwarts? Isn't that dangerous?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. It just . . . felt right," she said hesitantly. She fumbled with the tea kettle on the stove before getting it lit.

"Is that all there is for breakfast again? Tea?" asked Ron peckishly. "Maybe you want to Apparate to the castle and ask a house elf for some breakfast or something."

"You can't Apparate in Hogwarts, Ron." Hermione sounded nearly as cranky as he did.

"So Hogsmeade then," Ron shrugged. "There has to be food there. And we know our way around and they take Galleons." His voice clearly indicated that he didn't care where they went next, as long as there was a way to get a meal.

Harry gave in. Truth be told, the thought of seeing the familiar streets of Hogsmeade was irresistible. And maybe once they were there, he could convince the others to sneak up to the castle to search.

HPHPHPHPHP

Of course, they would have picked a Hogsmeade weekend. They stood under Harry's cloak on the small path that cut across the hill just above the main road through the village. They could see students swarming the shops while they discussed what to do. At least, Harry and Hermione discussed. Ron, still wearing the locket, simply muttered about 'how were they going to sneak into Honeydukes now that it was full of people?' Harry and Hermione ignored him.

"There's Ginny," said Harry suddenly. She was walking just below them, more or less with Neville and Luna and Harry thought all of three of them looked tense. They weren't speaking, or even looking in the same directions, just plodding along, apparently without a destination. Before he could think, Harry picked up his wand and shot two spells in their direction. Immediately, Neville and Luna turned and walked back the direction they had all come from, heading towards Zonko's joke shop. Ginny stumbled for a second before looking dazedly around and then walking into the alley between a cottage and the Hogs Head. Harry couldn't see her for a second, and then she appeared a few feet down from them on the path, looking confused.

"Ginny!" Harry hissed in a whisper. She looked around, wand out, eyes wary.

"Harry, I don't think . . . " Hermione began quietly.

Harry ignored her. As soon as Ginny had taken a few more steps forward, Harry began casting the privacy spells they had been using on their hunt, creating a small circle of quiet around the four of them.

"Salvio Hexia," he finished, and then pulled the Invisibility Cloak off. Ginny's eyes went wide. A second later, she launched herself into his arms.

"Harry!" she cried. "Ron, Hermione! I can't believe you are all here!" Her smile was at once happy and . . . kind of relieved, Harry thought. Now that she was close, Harry thought Ginny looked tired.

"What are you . . ." he began, but then Ron interrupted.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking, Harry?" he said. "Anyone could have seen her!" His face had gone red and he stepped closer to Harry, his wand raised.

"Relax Ron, no one saw me," said Ginny. She frowned. "What's that around your neck?"

Harry put his hand on Ginny's arm. "That's a long story. But before I start, any chance you have any snacks with you?"

Once Ginny produced a packet of sandwiches and cookies from the pocket of her robes and Harry made Ron remove the Horcrux, the atmosphere in their little circle relaxed a bit. They sat and listened first to Ginny tell them about all the horrible things happening at the school, about her's and Neville's and Luna's attempts to keep the DA going, about how Draco had actually hexed her with the Cruciatus Curse until Neville had stopped it. At that news, it took both Harry and Hermione's efforts to keep Ron from marching off to find Malfoy himself.

"No one can know we are here, remember?" Harry said.

"Ginny knows," Ron pointed out.

"Yeah, but Ginny isn't going to tell anyone," said Harry.

Ron shrugged. Despite the sandwich and removal of the Horcrux, he still looked irritable. "Malfoy put the Cruciatus Curse on her. What's to stop him from trying the Imperius next? Or one of the professors?" He shook his head. "Thanks for the food, Gin. But you need go."

"No," said Ginny in a dangerously calm voice. "Not until you tell me what's going on and how I can help."

"Ginny," said Hermione. "Be reasonable. This is to keep you safe."

"I'm not safe already," she pointed out. "And by the looks of things, you lot need my help." She pointed at the locket lying on the ground between them. "For a start, what is that thing? It makes me feel horrible. Actually . . . " she suddenly scrunched up her eyes and waved her wand. Her Patronus shot out of the end and settled on the ground, between her and the locket. "Ahh, that's better," she said.

"Brilliant, Gin," breathed Harry. "That never occurred to me." He looked to the others. "We have to tell her."

Over Ron and Hermione's continued protests, Harry quickly explained about the prophecy, the Horcrux, hunt, the difficulty they were having trying to figure out how to destroy them, and finally, his suspicion that one was hidden in the school. At the end, Ginny's eyes were wide with shock, but her face set with determination. She nodded.

"I can search the school," she said.

"Absolutely not," said Ron. "You said yourself, they aren't punishing you with things like lines anymore. "One more trip under the Cruciatus Curse and you are going to tell them everything you know."

Ginny crossed her arms and glared at her brother. Then she looked beseechingly at Harry. "Please, will you talk some sense into him? You need me to help and you know it. Anyway, it's too late. I already have the knowledge."

Harry sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, warring with himself. He knew they needed Ginny's help, but a fat lot of good it would do them if she got caught and was forced to tell what she knew. He looked at Hermione. "Could you . . .?" he began.

Hermione nodded. "Already on it," she said, lifting her wand. Quickly, she performed a variation of what Harry recognized as a memory modification charm. Ginny's eyes grew fuzzy for a minute and then cleared.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to see you today," Ginny said softly. "I'll search the school for artifacts to remember you all by, since I haven't seen you since August." Her voice had a floating quality and she looked over their heads as she spoke. Slowly, she walked over to her brother and gave him a hug, and then Hermione.

Finally, she walked to Harry. Her hug was stiff and perfunctory, but he couldn't stop himself from holding her tighter for just a second. Her hair smelled flowery and sweet and homey and he had the sudden urge to bury his face in it. That thought alone was enough to make him pull away, and he looked at the ground, feeling confused. He finally lifted his head in time to watch as Ginny walked through the wards he'd set without looking back. She disappeared down the path, and a couple of minutes later, they could see her on the road below, walking back towards the center of Hogsmeade.

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry said quietly. "That was brilliant."

"Putting a memory charm on my sister was brilliant?" Ron had put the locket back around his neck and his voice was tight with anger. "If something happens to her, Harry. It's all your fault."

"Nothing will happen to her," said Harry with more conviction than he felt. He shook his head to try to clear his muddled thoughts. "And I think she will be a big help, even if she doesn't know it."

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I hope you and Ron and Hermione are not as far north as Hogwarts; it's gotten to be quite cold. Last week was a Hogsmeade weekend and I had to wear my heavy jumper under my robes. It was not a lot of fun; half the shops in the village are closed and I dropped my sandwiches so I didn't have anything to eat. I wandered with Neville and Luna for a while, but that was about it. My legs are tired from all the walking I did._

 _I had a great idea, though. Since I miss you all and how Hogwarts used to be so much, I'm going to try to collect things to help me remember how it used to be. Nothing big, just little trinkets and such that are meaningful to the school. Isn't that a good idea? Maybe someday we will all be able to look at them together._

 _I'm sorry this letter is short. My head is feeling rather fuzzy right now. I think I need to get some sleep as soon as I burn this._

 _Take care and be careful._

 _Your friend, Ginny._


	6. Chapter 5

Things were uneasy between the trio after their trip to Hogsmeade. Ron was upset that Harry had told Ginny so much. Hermione didn't like that she had had to modify Ginny's memory to keep her safe, even though Harry had been the one to tell her too much in the first place. Harry himself was frustrated that the others couldn't see how useful having Ginny at Hogwarts could be.

He'd started watching her dot on the Marauder's Map whenever he could, hopeful that he would see her in places that seemed likely hiding places for a Horcrux. Instead, he became increasingly concerned to see that, wherever Ginny's dot happened to be, Draco Malfoy's was not far away. Practically the only place he wasn't near her was Gryffindor Tower; Harry even saw him standing near Moaning Myrtle's loo once while Ginny was inside. Harry knew Draco was a tosser; that he was likely just enjoying throwing around his newfound power at the school, but he would have felt less unease had he ever seen Draco lurking around some of the other dots too. Instead, he seemed nearly chained to Ginny.

Harry didn't say anything about it to Ron or Hermione. It was tense enough already, and Harry did not need to give Ron any more reason to think that Harry had done something to put his sister in danger. But it weighed heavily on his mind, and he'd started hinting to the others that it might be a good idea to visit the Burrow over Christmas. It was dangerous, to be sure, but that way Harry could question Ginny himself and hopefully put to rest his fears about what Draco might be doing.

"Harry, just stop. You know we can't go to the Burrow. I don't want to have to modify the memories of everyone in Ron's family." They'd all taken a break from wearing the Horcrux and Hermione was speaking to him fairly reasonably. She turned to Ron. "Don't you agree?"

"Well, umm . . . ." Ron looked uncomfortable. Harry knew he wanted to agree with Hermione, but also that the thought of getting one of his mum's home-cooked meals was tempting enough to make him forget the danger. And Harry had been slipping in mentions of some of Mrs. Weasley's best dishes into conversation as often as he could.

"We wouldn't have to modify any memories," said Harry quickly. "We could sneak in, have a proper wash and a bowl of stew with that homemade bread Ron's mum always makes to go with it, and then quickly check with Ginny about whether she's found anything. We'd be in an out in less than a day." He looked at Hermione as if something had just occurred to him.

"And didn't you say that you wanted to visit the Lovegoods to ask him about that symbol he wore to Bill and Fleur's wedding? They live right near by, don't they?"

"Yes, but . . ." she began. She looked at Ron. "It could be dangerous for Ginny, to question her under a memory charm."

Ron's face, which had opened up at the mention of his mum's stew, shut back down. "Well then, we won't be going."

Harry sighed to himself, but dropped the matter for now. But he knew he was going to get them to the Burrow somehow.

HPHPHPHPH

Ginny shook her head to clear it as she walked to Transfiguration. Ever since visiting Hogsmeade the week before, she'd had a dull headache she couldn't seem to shake. It wasn't so much painful as disorienting, and the disorientation, in turn, was making her nervous. Without telling anyone, she had taken to tracking the hours in her day again, to make sure she wasn't losing time. Now, she frowned at the parchment she was holding.

 _8 am: Great Hall for breakfast_

 _8:30 – 9:00 am: Moaning Myrtle's bathroom_

 _9:00-11:00 am: Double Potions_

 _11:00-11:45: Trophy cases_

 _12:00-12:30: Great Hall for lunch_

 _12:45-1:15 Seventh Floor Corridor_

Ginny hadn't lost any time; she was not going to be late to her 1:30 Transfiguration class, but the thirty minutes in Myrtle's bathroom and forty-five examining the trophy cases for things to remember Harry and Ron by seemed a little excessive. _It wasn't like she was really going to forget them right?_

So lost was Ginny in her thoughts that she forgot to keep on her normal lookout. She didn't even notice Draco approaching until he was close enough to snatch the parchment out of her hand.

"What's this, Weasley?" he drawled. "Your family so poor it needs to recycle parchment now?"

"Give that back, Draco." Ginny fingered her wand inside her robes but didn't pull it out. Hexing a Slytherin could get a student a trip to the Carrows, and the Carrows liked using the Cruciatus Curse. Stupid Draco bugging her in a crowded hallway wasn't worth the risk.

"Not yet, let's see what secrets you've been writing." He looked down at what was written and smirked.

"Trophy cases? What, you were hoping to see your name on one someday? Or did the shiny gold color help you pretend you were looking at Galleons. You've probably never seen any, right?" Malfoy's tone was obnoxious, but not threatening and Ginny just rolled her eyes. It wouldn't be the end of the world to lose that parchment. She didn't bother to respond.

"And half and hour in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom? I know it's probably the nicest one you've ever see, but really, that seems excessive." Draco opened his eyes in fake understanding. "Oh wait, I know. That bathroom is where Ha.. . ." he broke off, looking confused for a second. "I mean, were you planning to . . .arggh." This time, Draco seemed to choke on his words. He looked suddenly nauseated as he thrust the parchment back at Ginny.

"Whatever," he said. "Don't do it again." He turned and hurried down the corridor.

Ginny stared at Draco's back, confused at his behavior. But it whatever had happened, at least it had gotten his attention off her. Ginny shrugged and put the parchment back in her bag. She wasn't going to complain.

A week later, she wasn't so sanguine about Malfoy.

She lay on her bed, shaking at her latest encounter with the Slytherin. That she'd been able to throw off his curse, barely, was probably nothing more than the luck of Malfoy not expecting it. _She'd have to be more prepared next time._ Maybe her Patronus would help ease her nerves. She lifted her wand, searching for a good memory. _Maybe Harry, giving her that hug? Where had that been?_

Ginny wasn't sure where the memory came from, but it made her feel good. She was about to cast the spell when Demelza came into the room.

"What's up, Ginny? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Ginny shrugged, the unspoken rule not to talk about what was going on at Hogwarts this year prevented most conversations.

"Just Malfoy again," she said. It would do no good to tell her roommate exactly what Malfoy had tried to do this time.

Demelza nodded. "He's an arse, that one. Better to stay away from him."

Ginny got up slowly, thoughts of her Patronus and Harry's hugs forgotten. "Yeah," she said. "He seems to be everywhere, though." She picked up her bag. "Actually, I think I'll stop by Moaning Myrtle's bathroom before class. Draco seemed nervous about that place for some reason." In the back of her mind, it occurred to her that it might be a good place to practice her Patronus. Maybe the memory of Draco running away from her would be a good enough memory.

"Myrtle's bathroom?" Demelza interrupted Ginny's musings. "I didn't think anyone used that loo anymore, especially you. You know, because Harry . . ." her voice broke off and an uncomfortable look crossed her face.

"Because Harry and Ron might have left a trinket there for me to remember them?" Ginny shook her head. "I don't think that's it."

Demelza swallowed hard. "I have to get to class," she said quickly. She rushed out of the room.

Ginny picked up her bag, frowning. She had the same class as Demelza next. Why hadn't she waited?

HPHPHPHPHP

Harry didn't know if it was Ron's increasing hunger or the fact that they hadn't been making any progress on either finding more Horcruxes or destroying the one they had, but he was slowly becoming more amenable to the idea of going the Burrow over Christmas.

"No memory charms," he said firmly. "On anyone. But maybe Bill will have an idea about how to destroy this thing." Hermione was wearing the locket and Ron waved vaguely in her direction.

"Are you pointing at my chest, Ronald? Show a little restraint please," said Hermione testily before flopping down on her cot. "Fine. We'll go to the Burrow tomorrow. I think term ended today."

They arrived late the next afternoon at the Weasley's apparition point; Hermione had thought it safest to appear under cover of darkness. They could see lights on in the kitchen and all seemed calm, but Hermione insisted on performing a number of spells before she would let them approach. After one incantation, she frowned.

"Harry, I don't think you can enter the building. I think there's a detection ward for you on the doorway."

"What about you and me?" asked Ron.

"You are definitely okay," said Hermione. Your blood matches the wards here and the Death Eaters think you are upstairs dying of Spattergoit anyway." She looked pensive. "I'm not sure about me. I . . . I think Harry and I should go wait in the garden. Why don't you go get Ginny and ask her to meet us there."

"And don't stop to eat first," said Harry. "Bring food with you." He suspected Ron needed to be told outright.

Ron made a rude gesture at him and started to walk away.

"Wait," Hermione said suddenly. "Maybe we should disillusion you first. In case anyone is there that shouldn't be."

Harry pointed his wand at the Burrow. "Homonem Revilio" he said. A second later, his wand vibrated three times. "Your parents and Ginny," he said. "I think it's okay."

HPHPHPHPHP

When Ron and Ginny finally appeared in the garden, it was obvious he had not listened to Harry about waiting to eat. But he threw down a basket of meat pies and cookies and butterbeer and Ginny was there, and those combined things made Harry's annoyance evaporate.

It was great to see her. It felt great to hug her, and Harry was relieved to see that the memory charm didn't seem to have left her any worse for wear. Mindful on the limits on their time, Harry jumped right into questioning her.

"Have you found anything interesting at Hogwarts?" he blurted out around bites of a lemon biscuit.

At Ginny's confused look, Hermione quickly added, "to remember us by, he means. You know, _trinkets._ " She gave Harry a meaningful look.

Harry swallowed the biscuit. "Right, trinkets," he said. "Where have you been looking for trinkets?"

Ginny frowned. "Well, I looked through the trophy case, and I tried to get into the Room of Requirement, but I couldn't get it to open up to anything but that big room of junk." She leaned over the basket and looked over the cookie selection before selecting something chocolate.

That gave Harry an idea. "Maybe you should go back . . ." he began, when Ginny interrupted him.

"Oh, and I went to Myrtle's bathroom, of course."

Ron sat up. "Why'd you go into Myrtle's bathroom?" he asked. "The only thing in there is the entrance to the . . . and you . . . you . . . he . . . isn't . . ." Ron choked as if he'd swallowed something the wrong way. Hermione thumped him on the back; she looked distressed.

Harry took a deep breath against his own sudden feeling of unease. "Ummm," he began.

Next to him, Ginny frowned. "You lot too?"

"Us lot, what?" said Hermione earnestly. She leaned forward and peered in Ginny's eyes. "How are you feeling? Is this about trinkets? Or . . . snakes? Are you still afraid of them?"

Ron gave Hermione a sharp look but didn't say anything.

Ginny shrugged. "I'm still afraid of them, but there are worse things to worry about right now."

That reminded Harry of something. "Malfoy's been following you, hasn't he?"

Ron put down this third meat pie. "What? Malfoy?"

Ginny looked surprised. "How did you know?"

Harry flushed. "On the Maurader's Map," he said, hoping she wouldn't question why he'd been watching her.

But Ginny just nodded. "That's useful to keep an eye on things," she said. "And yeah, Malfoy's been following me around. Mostly just being a prat, but last week he thought he'd be smart and try to Imperius me."

"What?" Ron yelped. "That's an Unforgivable! You have to tell someone, a professor!"

Ginny laughed without humor. "Where do you think he got the idea? All the professors from before can't really do anything to help. The Carrows and Snape are in charge now. With regular visits from other Death Eaters they refer to as 'guest lecturers.'" She shrugged. "I threw it off before he could make me do anything," she said nonchalantly.

"But what did he want you to do?" asked Ron in a dangerous voice.

Ginny looked uncomfortable. "N . . . nothing," she said quickly. "He never had the chance to ask me to do anything."

Ron didn't look convinced and started to say something else. Harry interrupted him.

"That's amazing, Gin, that you were able to throw off the curse so fast. I'm glad to know you can protect yourself." He wished they could stay and talk longer; there was so much Harry wanted to know about Hogwarts and how Ginny was faring there. But the shadows were deepening and their warming charms were wearing off. It was time to go.

The next three days were rather pleasant; Harry suspected it was because they still had leftover food from the Weasleys to eat. He had taken on the burden of wearing the Horcrux more than the others simply out of a desire to keep the peace, and while he was relieved to see the other two getting along, Harry's own mood grew blacker. Every day they did not find another Horcrux was a day wasted, and he became silently angrier with Ron every for not letting him remove the memory charm from Ginny so that she could search Hogwarts properly.

He gave up wearing the Horcrux the same day Mrs. Weasley's food ran out; in retrospect it was a bad time to ask Ron to take his turn wearing the locket again. They were camping in a desolate wooded area far from the Burrow. Without the locket around his neck, Harry was able to think more clearly about their visit with Ginny. He brought it up while they were sitting around the stove, eating a "meal" of ground nuts and a packet of crisps Hermione had found outside a schoolyard near their last camp.

"I meant to ask Ginny to keep searching the Room of Requirement; I really think there is a Horcrux in there," he said around a gulp of tea.

Ron frowned. "She said the Room kept showing her that place where people leave their junk; why d'you think there's a Horcrux in there?

Harry shrugged. "I just know there is, I can feel it. It would be just like him to have assumed he was the only one who knew about that room. If we could just tell Ginny a little more about what we are looking . . ."

"Absolutely not," interrupted Ron. "You both have messed with my sister enough." He turned on Hermione.

"And what was that all about, asking Ginny if she was still afraid of snakes? Does she really need to be reminded of them?"

"I wanted to know how the memory charm was holding up," said Hermione hotly. "That was a pretty big thing we asked her to forget, and I'm not sure if it is affecting other parts of her emotions."

"Her emotions are fine," said Harry. "I could tell. She really wants to help us. And . . .I think she can." The thought came to him suddenly and he blurted it out without thinking. "She was able to throw off Malfoy's Imperius Curse, I know she can protect the secret." He jumped to his feet. "We need to tell her more." He pulled out his wand. "I'm going to send her a Patronus; she's still at the Burrow so it's a good time to tell her." He looked at Hermione. "Do we need to do anything to loosen the memory charm first or can we just tell her the information again, like it's the first time she's heard it?"

"I, umm," Hermione began. "I think we could just tell her again, but Harry, are you sure. . ."

"Of course he's sure, can't you see? He doesn't care if Ginny gets tortured, as long as she helps find another Horcrux first!" Ron had gotten to his feet too, and now he walked up to stand in front of Harry, a mutinous look on his face.

"Relax Ron, I don't want Ginny to get hurt either," said Harry. "I just think that it might be safe now to give her more information." Harry thought he was being reasonable; but Ron's face grew red.

"Just because she was able to throw off Malfoy's curse? What if it's not Malfoy next time? How can you be so callous about members of my family – oh, I know, it's because the Weasleys have so many kids, what wrong with one of them getting hurt, plenty more where that one came from!"

Ron looked rather deranged. He poked his wand into Harry's chest, ignoring the sparks that shot out of the end.

"Ouch," said Harry.

"Ron, that's not fair and you know it," said Hermione. "Harry doesn't feel that way."

Ron turned on Hermione. "Oh, take his side, why don't you? Just like you were so quick to help him modify my sister's memory in the first place!" He paced angrily around the tent. "It's not like you even have a clue about what you are doing," he said to Harry. "Your only plan is to put members of my family in danger. Well, you know what? I'm not having it anymore!" He pulled off the Horcrux and tossed it on a cot. "I'm out of here." He looked at Hermione. "Are you coming? Maybe you can fix Ginny's memory without putting her in more danger."

Hermion looked close to tears. "Ron, I don't think I can . . . and we promised to help Harry."

"Fine," spat Ron. "Take his side." Without another word he strode out of the tent. A second later, they heard the crack of Apparition.

Harry and Herimione looked at each other. "Do you think he's gone back to see Ginny?" asked Harry?

Hermione didn't answer. She threw herself onto her cot with a sob and pulled the blanket over her head.

Harry knew he probably should comfort her but he couldn't make himself move over to her. Instead, he slowly put the locket back around his neck and picked up the Marauder's Map before remembering that it was still the holidays. Instead, he lay back on his own cot and thought about ways he could contact Ginny. Whether he wanted to talk to her about helping them or because he really needed a friendly face right now, Harry was not sure.


	7. Chapter 6

Ron's departure only made Harry more determined to use any means he could to find another Horcrux. He and Hermione barely spoke, other than when she rejected – yet again – his idea to visit Godric's Hollow. Aside from the remaining Horcruxes, they still needed a way to destroy them, and Harry was certain that the answer to at least one of these problems lay in his birthplace.

But until he could convince Hermione otherwise, Harry decided to let the issue of Godric's Hollow drop. He wasn't so naïve to think he could manage a visit there himself.

Intercepting Ginny on her way back to Hogwarts was a different matter.

Harry knew Hermione was going to be angry; he just hoped that she wasn't so angry as to follow Ron's lead and leave him. He suspected she wouldn't; unlike Ron, who could return home or back to Hogwarts, Hermione had no place else to go.

He left before Hermione woke up, an apologetic letter that included the promise that he'd return by noon and bring food with him on the table. He disapparated under his cloak to the alleyway near King's Cross Station where Mr. Weasley had once parked his Ford Anglia. It was still dark in London, and after an hour in the cold, Harry snuck into the station behind a crowd of tourists with a lot of luggage and hid in a loo near the entrance to platform 9 ¾.

He hoped they weren't running late. He wondered if Ron would be with them, going back to the safety and warmth and comfort of Hogwarts, protected by his blood status.

But it was only Molly and Ginny that appeared at the barrier, twenty minutes before the train was to leave. Harry carefully followed them through and then snuck up behind Ginny to whisper by her ear.

To her credit, she didn't scream. After a frozen moment, she bent down as if to tie her shoe, and then told her mum she needed the loo before walking casually over to an empty waiting room alongside the platform. It had always been there, Harry thought, even though no one seemed to use it.

Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak over Ginny and spoke rapidly. "Ginny, there's something I need you to do for me – for us – at Hogwarts," he said urgently.

Ginny's eyes sparkled. "Of course, Harry, whatever you need," she said immediately.

Quickly, Harry explained about the Horcruxes and his suspicion that one might be in the Room of Requirement. This time, Ginny seemed less horrified and disgusted than when he had told her the same story in Hogsmeade and Harry wondered privately if they memory charm hadn't held as well as they thought. He didn't tell her about the prophecy - there wasn't time - but after swearing Ginny to secrecy, Harry found himself reluctant to just let her go.

"Promise me that you will watch out for Malfoy?" he asked quietly. "I know you can fight his Imperius Curse, but try not to give him reason to use it on you again."

Ginny nodded. "I wish I knew why he was so interested in me all of a sudden," she said.

"Probably thinks you can help him find us," said Harry. He started to ask where Ron was, but stopped. He really didn't want to know if he was going back to school or not. He focused on Ginny again.

"I umm, I'm glad you're going to help us," he said. It was warm, under the Cloak, but standing there with Ginny, Harry felt inexplicably safer than he had in months; for just a moment, he felt like they were the only two people in the world. Without consciously thinking about it, he put his hand on her arm. "It's going to make a big difference, having you involved," he said seriously. He took a step closer to her and Ginny looked at him curiously.

"Like I said before, I'm glad to help," she said. She took a step back. "But now I think I need to get on the train before my mum comes looking for me."

"Oh, right," said Harry. "The train." He lifted the bottom of the Cloak. "I'm, umm, just going to stay here," he said.

Ginny nodded. "Right," she said. "Umm, the next Hogsmeade weekend is on Valentine's Day; why don't you and Ron and Hermione meet me there. I can let you know if I found anything."

"Ron's not . . ." Harry started to say. He stopped, feeling a twinge of unease about Ron's whereabouts. _No need to worry Ginny._ "Right, he nodded. "We'll see you in Hogsmeade. On Valentine's Day. In the meantime, please be careful of Malfoy. You know things now."

And then Ginny was gone and Harry stood still under the Cloak until long after the last sounds of the train leaving died away.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

As Harry had suspected, Hermione had not left their camp. She was angry but resigned at his antics; there was really nothing she could do at that point. They sat in almost total silence the rest of the day; Harry kept his eye on the Map and didn't relax until he saw Ginny's dot finally come to rest in her dorm, where Malfoy couldn't get to her.

Harry made a point of being extra agreeable and solicitous to Hermione for a few days as they criss-crossed Britain, trying to think of another Horcrux hiding place. One night, he risked her ire again by mentioning that Ron had not gone back to Hogwarts; Harry had examined the Map carefully and Ron's name wasn't there.

Hermione shrugged. "I bet he went to live with Fred and George," she said casually. She sat up straighter from her position on her cot. "I've been thinking," she said cautiously. "That we need to go to Godric's Hollow. It's the only other logical location I can think of for something to be hidden."

HPHPHPHPHP

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I know I won't be able to send this to you, but I wanted to write anyway. So far, I've had no luck with the . . . activity you gave me to do. Twice, I got followed through the hallways and couldn't even make it to the Seventh Floor. Another time, I asked to be taken to the place where a "you know what" was hidden, but all it showed me was a huge room full of junk. You don't think it's in there, do you? I'm not even sure I'd know where to start looking, but I promise, I won't give up until I have better news for you. Hopefully by Hogsmeade, I'll have more to tell you.  
_

 _I'm trying to be careful; it's not easy. Luna didn't come back after the Christmas holiday and no one knows where she is, or at least, they aren't talking about it. I mostly hang out with Neville._

 _I think I know when the Seventh Years have double Potions; I'm going to use that time to do some more exploring. I know I won't be interrupted then._

 _Your friend, Ginny._

HPHPHPHPHP

The only positive thing about the disastrous trip to Godric's Hollow is that Harry and Hermione were talking again. She felt horribly guilty about Harry's wand being destroyed and he felt guilty about insisting they visit the village in the first place, and their combined feelings mended most of the bad feelings between them.

And then Ron returned and saved Harry's life, and they had Gryffindor's sword and destroyed the locket, and suddenly Harry felt a glimmer of hope that they might be back on track.

He didn't want to risk the tentative peace that was building between the three of them, so at first, Harry kept quiet about his plan to meet Ginny in Hogsmeade. He knew he'd have to tell them eventually, in time to get them to join him there, but he kept telling himself he just needed to find the right time.

But after they visited the Lovegoods and learned of Luna's disappearance, Harry himself began to question the wisdom of the scheme. Instead of trying to figure out how to get Ron and Hermione to come to Hogsmeade with him, he began thinking about whether it would be dangerous to put another memory charm on Ginny so she couldn't remember what he'd told her.

He was still watching Ginny on the Map every chance he got; it was second nature to him to find her name and then immediately seek out Malfoy, to see how far away he was from Ginny. Twice, she disappeared from the Map completely, but instead of feeling exhilarated at the thought that she was in the Room, looking for the Horcrux, Harry couldn't keep his eye off Malfoy and where he was in relation to the seventh floor corridor where Ginny would eventually emerge. He only allowed himself to relax when he saw the Slytherin head back to his own common room and Ginny appear back on the Map, shortly thereafter. It was late; almost curfew at Hogwarts by Harry's reckoning, and he watched her dot with a small smile on his face as it made its way to Gryffindor Tower and then to the girls' dorm.

 _Ginny would be getting into her pajamas, maybe joking with her roommates. Good thing she avoided Malfoy; she's likely to be in a good mood. I hope she didn't skip dinner to search._

Harry was musing to himself as he pulled on his own pajamas and climbed into his cot, the wand Ron had gotten from the snatchers at his side. Ron was keeping first watch tonight and Harry noted with satisfaction that Hermione was keeping him company at the front of the tent. He burrowed down in the blankets against the chill and closed his eyes.

 _Ginny's pajamas had little Quaffles and Snitches flying all over them. Harry was laughing with her about them, asking why there were no Bludgers too. He was trying to catch one of the Snitches in under his hand to see if he could get it to stop moving, and she was giggling. He ran his hand up her leg, chasing a Snitch, and then pressed his palm to her stomach. She wriggled and groaned under his touch and Harry moved his hand higher; his own pajamas felt tight . . ._

 _And Ginny's face suddenly contorted in pain. She wasn't wiggling with pleasure, she was moaning because someone had her under the Cruciatus Curse, and a raspy voice was asking her what she was looking for when she disappeared, how was she trying to help Harry Potter. They could curse her all day until she told them what she knew . . ._

"Harry, Harry! Wake up!" Someone was shaking him and he could still hear Ginny screaming, but the sound was fading away. Harry jerked awake to Hermione and Ron's worried faces. He ignored them and wordlessly grabbed the Map, looking it over until he found Ginny, still in her dorm. Malfoy was in his room and another quick search revealed that the Carrows were also far from Gryffindor Tower. Only then did Harry allow himself to take a breath and look at his friends.

"Why were you yelling about Ginny? Is something wrong? Did you see something?" Ron's voice was rather frantic.

Slowly, Harry shook his head. "Just a nightmare," he said. "At least, it was mostly a nightmare." Now that he was awake, bits and pieces of his earlier dream were coming back to him as well. He shifted in his bed, suddenly aware with a start that his pajamas were sticky. He tried to hide his flush; he hadn't had one of _those_ happen since his early days of dating Cho, when her idea of how far she and Harry could go did not always match up to what his body wanted.

 _But he'd not been dreaming about Cho; he'd been thinking about Ginny._

Harry rubbed his hand across his face. "Ginny's fine," he managed. "I can see . . . I can see on the Map she's fine." He took a deep breath. "But there is something I need to tell you. Go back to your watch. I'll, umm, put on some warmer clothes and join you both."

To Harry's relief, neither Ron nor Hermione seemed to find this request odd. They both went out to sit at the tent opening again and Harry cast a quick Scourgify before pulling on his warm trousers and two jumpers with his socks and boots and going to sit outside too.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" Hermione was looking at him carefully; she had sat through a number of his nightmares as he recovered from Godric's Hollow.

He plopped down next to Ron. "Yeah, I think so," he said. He looked at Ron. "I assume she told you I went to see Ginny at the train?"

Ron nodded. "What the hell were you thinking, mate?"

Harry sighed. "That's just it. I wasn't."

In the end, they decided that Ron should go alone to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day. He was the least likely to get in trouble if caught and he would be able to tell Ginny to stop putting herself at risk looking for Horcruxes. He refused to do another memory charm on her, though.

"I'm pants at them anyway, probably send her the way of Lockhart if I tried," he said. "She'll just have to work extra hard to keep her nose clean."

This did not sit well with Harry at all but he kept his mouth shut. He was the one to have put her at risk in the first place; there was no way to fix things and worrying Ron needlessly would only make things worse.

Ron came back from his meeting with Ginny to report that he'd used guilt to try to make her obey. "Threaten her and she's likely to hex you," he explained around a mouthful of one of the sandwiches Ginny had brought with her. "So I told her that Harry was particularly worried about her getting hurt." Ron snorted a bit. "I may have made it sound like you fancied her, mate. You know, to keep her safe."

Harry didn't respond. He'd had two more dreams about Ginny and both had required a Scourgify charm afterwards. He was becoming increasingly worried that he might start mumbling her name in his sleep or something, and had started trying to figure out if there was a way for him to slip away for a private wank before bed. So far, he'd not come up with a solution.

"What did she say about that?" asked Hermione curiously. "Do you think she still has that old crush on Harry? You know, the one from when she was little?"

Ron shook his head. "Nah, she didn't seem interested at all, just rolled her eyes at me and gave me the bag of food. Didn't even blush."

For some reason, hearing that Ginny didn't seem to care that he fancied her (even if it was just a made up story from Ron) made Harry feel oddly put out. True, he'd been having those dreams, but he'd never considered that he actually fancied Ginny, not in that way. Now, listening to Ron prattle on and Hermione muse about whether Ginny had a crush on anyone, Harry was suddenly less sure about his feelings.

And to Harry's dismay, it didn't look like Ginny had taken Ron's advice; on more than one occasion, he opened the Map to find her dot missing, or else marching resolutely up to the seventh floor corridor. Twice he saw Draco standing practically on top of her, and both times, Harry had been so distressed he'd barely been able to think until the Map showed Ginny back in her room.

It got to the point that half of Harry's mind was always on Ginny and whether she was safe, and only half on the task at hand. It was probably this distraction that caused him to forget about the curse on Voldemort's name; that they managed to survive Malfory Manor was nothing short of a miracle. Harry's guilt at Dobby's death was assuaged only by the fact that Ginny had not gone back to Hogwarts after Easter holiday; she was now at Muriel's with the rest of Ron's family.

Another advantage of Shell Cottage was that, despite the long hours that he, Ron and Hermione spent strategizing about how to break into Gringotts, Harry also found time to be alone. Using the excuse of Dobby's death, he climbed one of the dunes almost every evening, and, under cover of darkness and a few hastily set privacy charms, took care of his near constant arousal so that he could sleep without worrying about waking Ron.

It was not just a physical attraction, Harry now knew. It was true. He fancied Ginny. And letting anyone know would just put her in even more danger. Truthfully, Harry didn't want to tell anyone else until he had the chance to tell Ginny herself. They were such good friends; she had been a near constant source of help and comfort for many years now. Harry hoped, and even maybe assumed, that Ginny's feelings for him might have grown too.

To Harry's surprise, he had the opportunity to find out only two days later. Bill retuned from checking on his family with Muriel bringing Ginny along with him. Apparently, she'd insisted on coming; insisted that she had news of vital important to Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

She blew into the cottage looking windblown, and more beautiful that Harry had ever realized. She gave them all perfunctory hugs before asking if there was a place they could speak in private.

"I'm taking Dean and Luna to Muriel's after lunch; the wards are set to accept them now," said Bill. "You lot can talk then." His mouth was set in a thin line and Harry knew he didn't approve that they were planning and talking in private. Bill opened his mouth as if to say more, and then closed it again. He'd already made his views about making deals with Goblins well known and Harry was sure Bill was even more concerned now that his sister was involved too. Harry wanted to reassure the man that Ginny would have nothing to do with their plans for Gringotts, but he suspected that Horcruxes and prophecies would not be any more reassuring.

While Ron hovered in the kitchen, ostensibly helping Fleur and Hermione prepare lunch, but really trying to nick tastes ahead of time, Harry and Ginny walked up to see Dobby's grave. She listened in horror to his account of Malfoy Manor as they walked.

"Bill told us what happened generally, but I think he purposely kept the details from mum and dad," she said as they stood by the stone Harry had carved. "It explains why Malfoy wasn't around that last week of school at least."

"Was he still bothering you?" asked Harry sharply. "Did he try an Unforgivable again?" His dream of Ginny screaming was still vivid in his mind.

Ginny shook her head. "He mostly followed me around muttering things under his breath. He cornered me again outside Moaning Myrtle's bathroom but I was able to shake him off."

Harry huffed. "I wonder why he's so interested in that bathroom," he said, half to himself. He turned to Ginny and put his hand on her arm. "I want to apologize. I put you in danger this year and there is no excuse for it." He tried to ignore the tingle that went through him when he touched her. Ginny didn't seem to notice. She rolled her eyes.

"I was in danger the second I set foot at school this year, Harry. You had nothing to do with that."

"Yes, but . . . telling you about the Horcruxes. That was . . . thoughtless of me. I should never have told you, never have put you in a position to be tortured or put under the Imperius Curse. If something had happened to you, it would have . . ." Harry stopped talking.

"You put Hermione and Ron in just as much danger," Ginny pointed out. "It made sense for me to know. Who else could search the school?"

"It's different," Harry muttered. "It's different with you."

"Why?" asked Ginny curiously. "Why is it different with me?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Ginny," he began, "we've been friends, good friends, for a long time."

Ginny nodded. "Since the end of my first year." She spoke in a matter of fact voice but her words made Harry suddenly uneasy.

"Uhh yeah, right," said Harry quickly. "Umm, but with you, it's umm, it's not the same as with Ron and Hermione."

"Why?" she asked again. She looked down and seemed to realize for the first time that Harry still had his hand on her arm. Harry thought maybe she looked a little surprised, but she didn't step away.

"Ron and Hermione, I think, fancy each other. I think they have for a long time."

Ginny snorted. "I thought so. Just took my brother seeing her almost get killed to realize it."

"Exactly," said Harry. "That's exactly it." He closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts. "It's different when you like someone as more as friends. Ron and Hermione, they are my best friends. I don't want them to get hurt, of course." Harry wasn't sure he was making sense. He opened his eyes and looked at Ginny. "And you, you are one of my best friends too. And it's great that you are helping us, that you are willing to do that. But lately . . . it's been . . . different." He spoke in a rush. "My feelings for you have been different."

Ginny's eyes opened wide. "Oh," she said slowly. She took a tiny step back, just far enough that they were no longer touching. "Harry . . ." she began.

"It makes sense," Harry interrupted. "We have so much in common, Quidditch, Gryffindor, learning the Patronus charm . . ." There were other things too, he knew, but his brain felt rather fuzzy. He wasn't sure if it was because he was suddenly confessing his feelings to Ginny or not. But then she was shaking her head.

"Harry," she said again. "You are one of my best friends. You know that. I . . . I don't know that I could have made it through these past months at school if I hadn't had you, and Ron, and Hermione, and how I might help all of you, to take my mind off everything else." She took a deep breath and Harry suddenly felt a pit in his stomach. ". . . But . . ." she continued.

"Ginny, wait, let me explain more." The words burst out of him, as if saying them would be able to negate the look on Ginny's face and the tone of her voice.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," she said quietly. "I . . . I don't feel that way about you. I haven't . . . ever felt that way about you. Other than that silly crush when I was nine." She looked at him. "But you aren't talking about a crush, are you?"

Harry shook his head. "No," he said dully. "It's more than a crush. I just thought . . ."

"I think, maybe," said Ginny carefully, "that us being apart this year, not being able to talk all the time like we are used to, I mean. And you missing Hogwarts and Quidditch and everything. I think it might have made your feelings for me become a little . . . unrealistic."

"They aren't unrealistic . . ." began Harry. Ginny held up a hand.

"Okay, okay, maybe they aren't." She took a deep breath. "I just think that, if you and I were meant to be more than friends, if I was to have feelings for you, it would have happened before this." She looked up at him, and suddenly there was a fierce light in her eyes.

"But that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep helping you, however I can," she said. "You need me. We won't let this interfere," right?

Harry forced himself to smile. "Right."

"Really, Harry, I mean it. I'm going to help." Ginny put her own hand on Harry's arm, and try as he might, he couldn't quite suppress a shudder. She frowned and quickly took her hand away. She shook her head as if to clear it. "I need to talk to the three of you," she said. "I think . . . I think I have really good news for you. And I think there is more I can do to help." She looked down the hill. "I'm going back to help Fleur before Ron eats all the food," she said. "See you there soon?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Soon. I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't mean to . . ."

"Don't worry about," she said quickly. "Like I said, it's been a strange year. I don't think any of us can totally trust what we are thinking or feeling right now."

Harry privately disagreed, but he nodded anyway and watched Ginny walk away. His thoughts were swirling and his body felt like it wanted to betray Ginny's words. Harry groaned to himself and then set a privacy charm around Dobby's grave. At least he'd be more in control before he had to talk to Ginny later.


	8. Chapter 7

Ginny's thoughts were swirling all though lunch. Harry's revelation had come out of the blue; she hadn't thought of him as more than a good friend, almost a brother, since she was a very small girl. And really, that childhood crush didn't even count; it had ended by the time she was 10 or 11, she thought.

Carefully, she reviewed all her recent interactions with Harry in her mind, to see if there was any way he could have misinterpreted anything. Truly, she found nothing amiss. Her friendship with Harry had always been easy. Even after Sirius had died, it hadn't taken them too long to come to an understanding about their mutual feelings of guilt, and then to get past them. Being able to help him with the task Dumbledore had left him had taken on a vital important in Ginny's life. She assumed Harry leaned on her much the way he did Ron and Hermione. That he'd inserted his feelings into the mix created nothing but confusion.

 _Fancying me will make it harder for Harry to focus on the Horcruxes. He's going to be distracted, and that can be dangerous. I'm going to have to work twice as hard to help him._

Ginny didn't let her face give anything away. She ate her lunch and talked casually with Hermione about what it was going to be like, sharing a room at Muriel's with Luna. She smiled at Harry when she asked him to pass the salt and tried to think about what she would normally talk to him about. Several times, she felt Harry looking at her.

Finally, lunch was finished and the four of them went up to Hermione's room. After Harry finished setting the silencing charms he sat stiffly down on chair next to the bed. "So," he said quietly. "What do you have to tell us, Ginny?"

Despite the vague unease she felt because of Harry's confession, Ginny could not help but almost burst with her news. "I found it!" she crowed. "I found another Horcrux! It's a tiara!"

The response to her announcement was, of course, dramatic. "Blimey, Ginny," said Ron. "How? Where?"

Hermione was quieter, but no less effusive. "That's amazing, Ginny," she said. "How were you able to determine it's a Horcrux? It's a tiara, you said?" Ginny could already see Hermione cataloguing all she knew about the Hogwarts founders, and whom the tiara might have belonged to.

Harry actually jumped to his feet and looked wildly around, as if he expected to see the Horcrux appear before them. "That's . . . that's . . . fantastic. I didn't think . . . Where did you put it?" he finally asked. His face was a mixture of excitement and hope and relief, Ginny thought. He gave her a friendly smile and Ginny relaxed. _Hopefully that whole nonsense about him fancying me is over._

"I found it in the Room of Requirement, just like you thought," she said. "In that room full of junk where that cabinet the Death Eaters used to get into the castle last year is. I'd been searching there for days, and then suddenly, there it was, next to a bust of some old wizard."

"But how did you know it was one?" asked Harry. "A Horcrux, I mean. You said its a tiara?"

"The diadem of Ravenclaw!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly. "That must be what it is. " She ruffled through her beaded bag. "I think I have a book with a picture of what they think it looks like in here somewhere . . . "

Harry looked back at Ginny. "Are you sure?"

Ginny nodded. "I . . . I'm sure," she said shakily. She knew she had to tell them exactly what she'd found, but the thought of reliving it wasn't pleasant.

 _Ginny hadn't been in the Room of Requirement for very long this time, and she was already frustrated. She had passed the same spindly-legged table three times as she walked around the Room, and every time she saw it and it's haphazard pile of junk, the bleaker she felt. She thought it was because the table was right next to that horrible cabinet the Death Eaters had used the year before; just looking at its half-opened door gave her the creeps._

 _Finally, she decided to examine the junk around the cabinet; obviously she wasn't going to find anything new in the Room today. The stupid bust of some old wizard, a couple of wooden boxes, salt shakers, chipped glass beakers, a tarnished tiara . . ._

 _The tiara looked kind of like the one Fleur had worn at her wedding. Despite her increasing feelings of dread, Ginny couldn't help but put it on._

 _It fit perfectly across her brow, and for a moment, Ginny felt a surge of joy at how beautiful she must be. She danced lightly over to a mirror leaning against the wall and peered at her image. The tiara sparkled and Ginny smiled._

 _The next instant, she felt a swoop of dread in her stomach. The tiara felt hot on her head and when she looked in the mirror, she could see tiny snakes crawling out of it and slithering down her cheeks. She could feel them, cold and slimy, but when she tried to pull them off her face, her hands came away empty. A dull, accusing voice pounded in her head, "your fault, your fault, your fault . . ."_

 _Ginny pulled the tiara off her head and flung it away from her. The feeling of the snakes disappeared as she backed away and ran for the exit. The voice in her head took longer to fade. What was her fault? She felt like she should remember, but the knowledge just wouldn't come._

Ginny shook off the memory. Harry, Ron and Hermione were still looking at her, waiting.

"Where is it now, Ginny?" Harry's face was full of hope and Ginny had a sinking feeling that he expected her to just pull it out of her robes. _Maybe he even thinks that is what's causing me not to . . . have feelings for him . . ._

"I . . . I left it there. In the Room of Requirement," She said shakily. "It made me feel . . . horrible. I didn't want it anywhere near me."

Harry looked distressed. "What did it do to you, Ginny?" He made a movement as if to put his arm around her, but Ginny flinched involuntarily and he pulled back. "I'm so sorry, whatever it showed you. It's not real."

"Who cares about that?" Ron interrupted. "Did you hear her? She found it, but she left it there! It's still not safe. What if Voldemort decides to move it or some other student finds it or something?" He looked at his sister. "Ginny, why couldn't you have just, I don't know, hidden it better? What were you thinking?"

"That's enough, Ron," said Harry sharply.

He looked at Ginny. "It's not your fault," he said. "That you didn't hide the Horcrux. They are nasty, horrible things."

"True," said Hermione. "You should have seen how we all acted to each other when we were wearing the locket."

"But you were able to wear the locket? It didn't make you feel like you were going crazy? Hearing voices?" Despite herself, Ginny looked to Harry. He shook his head.

"It just put us in a particularly foul mood," he said. "Not fun to be around, for sure." He took a deep breath. "It's okay that you left the tiara there," he said. "Actually, it's great that we now know it _is_ a tiara. And since we think there is another Horcrux at Gringotts, by the end of the week that could be two more destroyed." He sounded so hopeful, Ginny had to smile. But then Ron's voice broke in.

"So now we have to break into Hogwarts too? How do you propose we do that? The place is crawling with Dementors and Death Eaters and Slytherins, and there's no telling when You Know Who is going to figure out we're hunting Horcruxes and go move the tiara." He shook his head. "It would have been so easy. If she'd only brought it with her," he muttered.

"And you think we were been better off before she found it? Before we knew what it was and where it had been hidden?" Harry's voice was angry. "I think Ginny did . . . an amazing job. I think we should _commend_ her for what she did instead of attack her for not doing enough." Harry stepped forward again and put his hand on her arm, and Ginny forced herself not to move away. _We're friends, and friends can touch each other. It doesn't have to mean anything._

But as she left the bedroom and went to wait for Bill to take her back to Aunt Muriel's, one thing Harry had said kept revolving her mind. _Not doing enough._ That was the problem, she was not doing enough to help. If she was, she would have been able to hide the tiara somewhere safe, or, better yet, have brought it home with her when she'd left for Easter holiday. And it would already be destroyed, or close.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Harry come into the room until he was sitting on the sofa next to her. "Can we talk?" he asked quietly.

Ginny nodded, and Harry looked relieved.

"I'm sorry," he said. "About . . . what I said, earlier. That I fancy you, I mean. I shouldn't have . . . I just shouldn't, I guess."

Ginny shrugged. "I'm sorry too, Harry. That I don't feel that way back. I just . . . I'm your friend, right? Your good friend?"

Harry nodded. "One of the best," he said solemnly.

"Right. One of the best. And you one of my best friends too. But that's it. Just friends." Ginny struggled to explain what she was feeling. "I think . . . we just know each other too well, as friends, to make it anything else."

Harry sighed. "Okay. Yeah. I guess you're right." He stood up quickly and turned away, but not before Ginny saw him run his hand across his lap. She shook her head to herself. Maybe if she showed him just how much he needed her as his friend, helping with the Horcruxes, that would make him understand. She needed to fix things anyway.

 _Not doing enough._

She hadn't done enough to secure the tiara, but that was something she could fix. She was the only one who knew where it was now. It had to be her.

Ginny returned to her Aunt Muriel's later that afternoon. Harry couldn't resist giving her what he hoped seemed like a friendly hug goodbye. In response, she gave him a fierce look and told him not to worry, she was going to help fix everything. He didn't ask what she meant, so glad was he that she was talking to him. He was determined that when he saw her again, he would be nothing more than her friend. That's all.

That did not stop him from stealing up to Dobby's grave after supper. He tried to think of someone – something – anything else. But all he could imagine was the way Ginny smelled so like flowers, and how she used to poke him fondly in the chest when she wanted to make a point in some story she was telling him, and how he had loved to listen to her talk about Quidditch, and her family, and how much she missed Sirius. Harry was hard even before Ginny was naked in his mind; by the time she straddled him he came all over his hand before collapsing back against the dunes. Harry rubbed roughly at his eyes. He had to get better control of his emotions before he saw Ginny again. He owed that to her as her friend, at least.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

It was just after breakfast two days later when Arthur arrived at Shell Cottage in a panic.

"Ginny! Is Ginny here? She's missing. From Muriel's. Ginny!" Everyone converged on him in a rush.

"We all had a bit of a lie-in today, weren't all together for breakfast," he began. "No one noticed at first, but Ginny isn't one to sleep in too late; she gets hungry."

"Dad, get to the point," said Bill.

"Right, well, we all looked for her, couldn't find her anyway. The wards are still set; she must have left on her own; we'd have known otherwise. And then Luna. . . finally, I don't know what kept her from speaking up sooner . . .but Luna said Ginny said something about _making things right, that she hadn't done enough_. We thought maybe she'd come here to help you lot." He looked around. "But she's not here, is she?"

"We haven't seen her since she left for Muriel's two days ago," said Hermione. "And we were planning . . . I mean, we intend . . . tomorrow," she finished weakly.

Harry was pacing. "Where could she have gone?" he asked. "What does she mean about not doing enough? She's done so much to help, she actually found . . ." his voice broke off and he looked wildly at Ron and Hermione. "You don't think she . . . _went back_ , do you? To get it?" He didn't want to say too much in front of Bill and Fleur and Mr. Weasley.

"She couldn't be that stupid, it's too dangerous," said Ron. Harry knew worry was making him speak more harshly than usual.

Harry rounded on him. "But you made her think she hadn't done enough, remember? You thought she should have brought it with her in the first place." He wrung his hands. "Is something happens to her . . ."

"I don't think . . ." Hermione began, but Harry shook his head.

"I do," he said. "I'm sure of it, actually."

"What's going on?" Arthur broke in. "Do you know where Ginny is?"

Harry nodded grimly. "She went back to Hogwarts. To get something we need to . . . to finish this."

Bill looked horrified. "What the hell?" He looked at Fleur. "I've got to go."

Harry shook his head. "No, I'm going," he said. "I know what she's planning to do. It has to be me."

"And us, too," said Ron, gesturing to him and Hermione.

"You can't, not this time," said Harry. "I need to be able to move quickly under the Cloak." He didn't wait for an answer, but grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and ran outside. Thinking quickly of the small lane above the Hog's Head where they had met Ginny the last time, he turned on the spot and disappeared.


	9. Chapter 8

Harry had no plan when he got to Hogsmeade; he just knew he had to intercept Ginny before she tried to enter the castle. He didn't know exactly what the wards and other security measures would do to her, but it certainly wouldn't be good.

Hoping against hope that she had also decided to start in Hogsmeade and that she didn't have too much of a head start, he jogged off along the path that wandered right above the village. He figured he'd meet up with the path that led to the castle past the place where the Hogwarts express stopped; it would be the likeliest place to see her from any direction. And if she had already passed him, well then, it looked like he would just have to figure out a way to break into the school.

He found her in the woods, in front of the Shrieking Shack. Even though her back was to him, he could see her wand was out, her hand trembling. A second later, he saw the reason why. _Dementors – four of them – on the path in front of her._

They didn't seem to be moving closer and for that, Harry was relieved. He stopped, not wanting to startle her, or them. But Ginny was edging towards the figures, and she was trying to cast her Patronus; Harry could see wisps of silvery smoke in front of her. She shook her head, a frustrated move, and tried again; Harry could just make out the incantation, and the hesitation in her voice.

She took another step forward, and then another. Still, her Patronus wouldn't cast. At some point, she must have crossed an invisible barrier because the Dementors, which until then had given her no mind, began gliding towards her.

Harry didn't stop to think. He ran forward, pushing Ginny out of the way as he bellowed the spell; the Dementors backed away and then disappeared immediately in the fact of Harry's stag. The air was still cold, but the dreadful depression dissipated with the creatures.

Harry let out a breath and turned around. Ginny was standing just off the path, looking at where the Dementors had just been. She looked at Harry and seemed both relieved and confused.

"My . . my Patronus wouldn't work," she said. She held up her wand. "Why wouldn't it work?"

Harry approached her slowly. "There were four of them, that makes it a lot more difficult," he said. "What was your happy thought?"

Ginny shrugged. "Flying."

"And does it usually work, to think about flying?"

Ginny shrugged again. "I don't think so," she said. "I usually thing of other things. I haven't tried to cast one in a while." She peered up the path. "Thanks for getting rid of them though. Do you think they are gone for good? I have to get to Hogwarts." She looked more animated. "It's really important."

"Ginny, you know you can't go to Hogwarts, it's not safe." Harry tried to keep his voice calm.

Ginny huffed. "It's fine, Harry. Really. You of all people should know how important it is to make sure the . . . _you know_ . . . is secured." She started to walk past him. "I'll be fine."

Harry grabbed her arm. "Ginny, stop. Please. You'll get hurt, or worse. We are going to figure out a different way to get . . .it." He couldn't quite keep the pleading out of his voice.

"Harry, please let go of me," Ginny said stiffly. "I thought we talked about this. You wouldn't stop Hermione or Ron from going. It's not fair of you to treat me differently just because you have . . . feelings, or whatever, for me." She tried to pull away but Harry only held her more firmly.

"I most certainly would stop them from trying something so ridiculous," he said. How exactly do you think you are going to get past the wards, let alone make it up to the seventh floor without being seen? " He shook his head. "I'm sorry that it makes you uncomfortable to be around me right now. I can't do anything about . . . how I feel. But I can stop you from going on what would amount to a suicide mission."

"So you admit you still fancy me? I thought you said you'd forget about it," said Ginny. She was looking up the pathway again as if Harry's warning about the dangers of trying to sneak into the school hadn't penetrated. But as she finished speaking, she turned and looked him in the eye. "You still do, don't you?"

Harry shrugged helplessly. "I can't always control who I love, Gin," He said. "But I meant it, I'd do the same for any of my friends." The words were out of Harry's mouth before he realized what he'd said. Ginny suddenly looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"You love me?" she said quietly. She took a step back. "Harry, you can't. You can't . . . love me. It's too . . . You won't . . ." She took another step away and looked up the path again.

"Ginny, I didn't mean . . . "

"No Harry, please. Don't you get it? It's not right. It's too much. If you love me, I mean. You'll not keep yourself safe, worrying about me all the time." Her voice rose and Harry looked around, worried they'd be overheard.

"Like, like now," Ginny said. "What are you doing here, now? If it's dangerous for me, what must it be for you? You shouldn't have chased me here. I need to fix things and you are letting your emotions get in the way."

"Ginny, I would have come for anyone," Harry said in what he hoped was a placating voice. But Ginny shook her head again.

"No, you would have sent Ron or Bill or my father. But you . . . you love me, so you came instead, and it's putting you in terrible danger." Ginny was almost crying. "Harry, please let me go up to the castle and get the tiara. Please let me fix this."

Harry had no idea what to do. He half wanted to grab Ginny and try to Apparate away with her, but taking someone Side-Along against their will was likely to get them Splinched. He wasn't sure what was making Ginny so determined to get the Horcrux right now, but he knew he had to stop her.

"It's only Ron who thought you should have gotten the tiara, not me." He tried to reason with her. She shook her head. "And . . . you're right," he improvised wildly. "I do get distracted. By you. All the time."

Ginny stopped backing away. "I knew it," she said. "Harry, like I told you, I'm so sorry I don't have those feelings, but it's so dangerous of you to be so distracted. Please, please try to let them go."

"Right, I will, I'll try," said Harry, nodding. "But . . . only if you make me a promise. To help me. It's why I can't let you go up to the castle right now."

Ginny took a step forward. "What do you need?" she asked.

"Ron, Hermione and I, we are leaving in the morning for Gringotts," he said carefully. "We think there is another, you know what there."

"I know," she said. "That's why I wanted to get the other one. Ron and Hermione need to go with you, but I could help here, and then you'd have two more gone."

"Right," said Harry. "But we have more planning to do. And, it's hard for me to focus when I'm worried about you." It wasn't a lie. Harry had been counting on Ginny's safety, assuming she would be tucked out of harm's way at her Aunt's, while he, Ron and Hermione went to the bank. Ginny still had the Trace on her, it wasn't safe for her to be out. His eyes narrowed.

"Ginny, how did you get here? You still have the Trace on you, right? You didn't Apparate, did you? Have you even learned how?"

She shook her head. "I Floo'ed to the Hogs Head," she said. The barman is a friend. He's been helping the former DA members all year." She bit her lip. "You need to go to Gringotts tomorrow, don't you?"

Harry nodded. "We are running out of time, I think." He didn't tell her what he knew of the Hallows, of the fact that Voldemort now possessed the Elder Wand. "I'm not sure how I know, but I feel it."

"It would take too long to get up to the castle right now," she said, almost to herself. "I can't have you worrying about me. Not right now." She turned suddenly. "Do you promise, as soon as you three are back from Gringotts, you'll let me come back here?"

"Of course. Of course we will," said Harry fervently. He would have promised her nearly anything at all to get her out of there. "Right away."

"Okay then, I'll wait." She started to walk back down the path.

"Where are you going? I can Apparate us both back to Shell Cottage."

Ginny looked uncomfortable. "That's okay, Harry. I think I'd rather take the Floo back to my aunt's. I don't think it's a good idea for you and I to be that close right now."

"Oh, right then." Harry took a deep breath. "But I'm going to walk you back, until I see you safely inside, okay?"

Ginny nodded in resignation. "Fine, Harry."

They walked back in silence. Just before she turned off to walk down to the pub, Ginny turned to him. "Good luck tomorrow. I hope you find one."

Harry nodded. Personally, he just hoped none of them got killed. He restrained himself from touching her cheek as a goodbye. "Thanks, Ginny."

HPHPHPHP

Bill got the Patronus Harry sent and was waiting to shut off the Floo at Muriel's as soon as Ginny arrived. When Harry received word that she was back safe, he'd pulled Ron and Hermione aside to tell them what had happened. "Your dad is going to keep an eye on her," he said. "But don't be surprised if we start getting messages from her as soon as we're back from Gingotts with the Horcrux."

Unspoken between them, of course, was the "if." 

Instead, they talked about Ginny and what might have made her think it was a good idea to run off to Hogwarts to get the Horcrux. They had any number of theories; each wilder than the last. Ron joked that maybe the Nargles had gotten her. Harry feared that she was just trying to avoid the discomfort he'd created by confessing his love to her – he didn't mention that to Ron or Hermione though.

Hermione grew thoughtful. "I wonder if this is about the Chamber," she said. "I know it was a long time ago, but maybe she's having bad memories or something." She looked at Harry. "Did Ginny ever talk to you about it?"

Harry rubbed his eyes, thinking, before lowering his glasses again. "I . . . think she did, at one point," he said. "A while ago. She was having nightmares about snakes, remember? It was always something about snakes."

"And she said the tiara made her feel like her body was covered with them," added Ron.

Hermione nodded. "I don't remember Ginny mentioning the Chamber recently, but maybe that's it," she said.

Harry thought of something. "She started learning the Patronus Charm second year to help her get over her fear of snakes," he said. "But today, when I found her, she was having trouble casting it again." He frowned. "She said she was thinking about flying. Maybe that's not strong enough."

"What did she used to think about?" asked Hermione.

Harry shrugged. "She didn't say, just that it was usually something different." With a sinking feeling, he wondered if Ginny's trouble with her Patronus had something to do with him. _He'd made her uncomfortable, and now she couldn't be happy around him._

"I bet it's just the stress of everything going on," said Ron. "She's always been a bit mental, Ginny has. Always."

"Harry picked up the cauldron bubbling away in front of them. "Enough about Ginny," he said. "Does the Polyjuice look ready?"

HPPHPHPHPHPHP

The never made it back to Shell Cottage after Gringotts. After they recovered from their mid-air jump off the dragon's back and Harry realized that Voldemort knew about the Horcruxes, they knew their time was up.

"We need to get to Hogwarts," he said tersely to the others. "Now."

"Okay," said Ron. "But how the hell do you propose we do that?"

Harry had the answer in a second. "We're going to Apparate directly into the Hogs Head," he decided. "Ginny said the owner is a friend to the DA. Hopefully that friendship extends to people appearing there without warning."

Aberforth was gruff and suspicious and tried to talk them out of going back to the school, but in the end he agreed to help them. While they waited for the portrait of Arianna to return, conversation shifted, again, to Ginny.

"She's a feisty one for sure," he said. "Was just here a day or two ago." He gave them a grave look. "I didn't tell her about this passageway into the castle. Something told me it wasn't a good idea."

Harry nodded. "Thanks," he said. "You probably saved her life."

"It's a good thing my brother taught me a thing or two about creating a shadowed Floo network. Took a bit of work, but at least its safe. And Ginny certainly was determined to get up to the school. Said she needed to get something."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. "We are going to need to get to the Room of Requirement immediately," he said. "I just hope we can find where Ginny threw it."

"You won't need to look, I can help you," said a voice behind them at the fireplace. They whirled around.

Ginny's head was floating in the Floo. "I'm coming through," she said to Aberforth." She looked at the trio. "I'm going with you."

Harry's head and heart warred at the sight of her, unfolding herself from the Floo.

"Ginny," he said weakly. "It's not safe for you."

Ginny gave him a look. "If it's safe for Ron and Hermione, it's safe for me too."

His heart gave a thump. Even annoyed with him, Ginny was beautiful. Maybe even more so.

"I know, but. . ." he began.

"It's not different with me, Harry," she said in a dangerous voice.

"I'd say running off to try to break into the castle makes it different for you," said Ron. "What were you thinking?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You told me yourself, Ronald, that I made a mistake by not bringing the Horcrux with me. Now I'm trying to fix it."

Ron huffed. "Fine. Okay. Let's just go then and get the damn thing."

It wasn't as easy as that. The Room of Requirement was already crowded with members of the DA when they arrived, and more and more people appeared through the tunnel – the rest of the Weasleys, the Order of the Phoenix, Harry's old Quidditch team. He could see Ginny shaking with anticipation, trying to get everyone out of the room. Finally, after the unexpected arrival of Percy, everyone was gone, off into the castle to fight.

Harry followed Ron, Hermione, and Ginny into the corridor only long enough to allow the Room to transform. The difference when they entered was stark; the sounds of the battle fell away and a heavy, waiting silence met them instead.

Before he could a word, Ginny darted ahead of them, into the gloom.

"Ginny, wait!" Harry shouted, but she didn't stop.

"Mental, I told you," said Ron. They all started to run after her.

"She shouldn't . . . touch it," panted Harry. He held out his arm to stop the others so they could try to listen for Ginny's footsteps. "If it made her that upset last time. One of the rest of us should carry it instead. God, I hope she doesn't put it on again. I . . . don't like to think about . . . I mean, I don't want her to . . . be hurt."

Hermione looked sharply at Harry. "It might hurt any of us the same way," she said.

"Yes, but . . . Ginny isn't . . . I mean, she's . . . it's different with her," Harry finished weakly. He pointed off to the left. "I think I hear something over there."

A moment later they found Ginny. She was standing with the tiara on her head, clawing at her face with tears coursing down her cheeks.

"It's my fault, all my fault," she sobbed. She fell to her knees. "Harry . . . I'm so sorry. So, so sorry. Harry, I didn't mean . . . I should have done better. But I didn't, and it's all my fault." She buried her head in her hands.

Harry ran forward and snatched the tiara off Ginny's head. He shoved it at Hermione. "Make a container for it," he said urgently. "Ron, don't let Hermione put it on." He didn't wait to see if they understood, but wrapped his arms around Ginny.

"Ginny, Ginny, Ginny," he said softly. "Nothing is your fault, I promise." She was shaking, and he rocked her back and forth. "You did everything right. You were brilliant. Really. Nothing is your fault. You were . . . perfect." He couldn't stop himself from brushing his lips against her hair. "You did everything right," he said again.

Slowly, Ginny's crying slowed. She looked at Harry, and then at his arms around her. "Harry," she said quietly. "I thought you said you wouldn't . . ." she stopped talking and looked up at Ron and Hermione. A second later, she carefully shrugged out of Harry's arms and stood up. She pointed to the small glowing box between them. "The tiara's in there now?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, I have it magically contained," said Hermione. "It's quite safe for now, I think." She looked down at Harry, still sitting on the floor and started to say something, then stopped. He got to his feet.

"Thanks, Hermione," he said. "We should really go; we still need to figure out how to get rid of it."

As they walked out, Hermione hung back with Harry and let Ron and Ginny get ahead of them.

"How long?" She asked quietly.

Harry understood immediately. He shrugged. "Around the time Ron came back," he said.

"Does she know?"

Harry nodded dully. "She knows. And she very much doesn't feel the same way."

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry," said Hermione. "You two have been such good friends for so long, I thought it would have been natural for you to have stronger feelings for each other."

"I would have thought so too," said Harry. "But she said that's the problem, actually. Our friendship is too strong – we know each other too well, to be more."

"That's an odd way of looking at it," said Hermione. "How did you leave things with her?"

Harry shrugged again. "That I'd do my best not to show her how I really feel and that she and I would stay friends. She really feels strongly about that, at least. You've seen how much she wants to keep helping with everything."

Hermione frowned. "I know. I think it's been really hard for her with the three of us gone this year. She really wanted to prove herself."

"Well, she did," said Harry resolutely. "We got the tiara." They reached the door to the Room and found Ron and Ginny waiting for them. They were arguing about Ginny not being old enough to fight.

"Harry, tell my sister she's mental. She's not of age and she can't stay."

"Harry, please. I need to help. You know I do." Ginny looked at him beseechingly.

Harry warred with himself. He wanted to order Ginny back to the Hog's Head, but he didn't trust that he was only thinking of her age and not his feelings for her. _It would be worse to have her think I'm trying to protect her because I love her._ He carefully avoided hoping that taking her side might help the way she felt about him.

"I'm not your mum or dad. I can't make that decision," said Harry carefully, trying to ignore the annoyed look Ron gave him.

"Fine. Go find mum and dad. They'll say the same thing. Just . . . don't get yourself killed in the meantime." Ron pushed open the door to the Room and they were all immediately assaulted with the sounds and sights of battle. Things had already begun to deteriorate.

"Thanks, Ron. I'll see you soon. I promise." Before the others could say a word, she turned and ran down a corridor.

"Ginny, wait," called Harry, but his voice was lost in the sounds of the battle.

"She'd better not get hurt, Harry," said Ron.

"I know," he replied. Already his decision was weighing on him. He took a deep breath, trying to focus. "We need to figure out how to destroy the cup and the tiara," he said.

"I was thinking about that," said Ron. "I have an idea."

Just then, Percy and Fred appeared in the corridor. "Anyone see any Death Eaters for us to fight?" asked Fred? "Cause we've already Stunned a bunch of them."

"Help me and Hermione get down to Myrtle's bathroom, I'm sure we can find more there," said Ron. He looked at Harry. "We're going to get Basilisk fangs. To destroy the . . . you know."

"Brilliant, Ron," breathed Harry. "I'm going to find Ginny."

"I want to find George," said Fred. "Come on, Perce."

They had all almost reached the stairwell when a huge explosion destroyed the corridor behind them. The force of the blast was so great that Harry was thrown against the wall. Fred looked back at the place they had all been standing, now just a pile of rubble.

"Wow, talk about lucky. Another minute or two there and we would have been flattened." He gave them all a salute. "I'll see you soon, jinx a few Death Eaters for me." He and Percy ran down the stairs and disappeared.

Harry could only think about trying to figure out where Ginny had gone. _If she had been near one of the explosions . . ._

Hermione seemed to know what he was thinking. She gave him a push. "Go find her, Harry. We'll take care of the Horcruxes. Find her, and then we'll meet you in the Entrance Hall. We need to figure out how to get the snake." She grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him in the direction of the bathroom.

Harry took a deep breath. He may be trying not to show Ginny how he felt, but he couldn't lie to himself bout his feelings for her. Especially not when any of them might not survive the night. Gripping his wand tightly, he ran down the stairs and into the thick of battle, searching for even a glimpse of hair the color of a sunset.


	10. Chapter 9

Harry spent the next hour searching the castle for Ginny, taking out as many of the enemy as he could at the same time. He never found her, and kept telling himself that was a good thing – he had already passed too many familiar faces who were injured, or worse.

Hermione and Ron were easier to find, standing outside Myrtle's bathroom with the destroyed cup and tiara. They were filthy and bloody and holding hands. It did not escape Harry's attention, and he grinned.

"About damn time," he said.

Ron shrugged with forced nonchalance; he actually looked quite pleased with himself. "No time like the present when there's a war on, right, mate?" He put his arm firmly around Hermione and then turned to Harry, the smile falling off his face.

"Hermione, umm, she told me. That you fancy my sister." Harry could tell that Ron was trying hard not to roll his eyes. "I'm not sure what you're thinking, you know she's totally mental. I love her, of course, but . . . mental."

"She's not, Ron," began Harry. "She's one of my best friends. But she's just . . ."

"I know, I know. I get it. You don't have to spell out your feelings. Actually, please don't spell out your feelings." Ron raised his hands in mock horror. "But I think we can all agree that she's not been acting quite herself lately, right?"

Harry shrugged and nodded and Hermione touched his arm.

"I mean, we have proof right here, don't we?" Ron continued. "That she doesn't fancy you back. You are practically the only bloke on the planet I'd allow to date my sister, you've been friends with her for ages, she falls all over herself trying to help you out this year and yet, she doesn't feel anything else for you?" Ron shook his head. "Like I said, mental."

Hermione gave Ron a kiss on his cheek. "Very perceptive," she said. "You've been paying attention."

Harry ran his hands through his hair. "Thanks, Ron," he said quietly. "I just hope I get the chance at some point to take advantage of the fact that you're okay with Ginny and I being together. Because right now, I'm not sure it's ever going to happen."

Ron opened his mouth as if to answer, but another huge explosion rocked the castle and the three of them had to run to escape the falling stones.

"No . . . no time to discuss . . . Harry and Ginny right now," panted Hermione. "Harry, we need to find the snake. Look into his mind. Tell us where the snake is and we can hopefully end this!"

Harry nodded and closed his eyes. It was remarkably easy to see Voldemort in his head.

"He's in the Shrieking Shack," he said quickly. "He's not even bothering to fight. Nagini's there too, in some sort of magical cage."

Ron nodded. "Well, let's get going then."

Taking one last look through the castle in the hopes he'd get a glimpse of Ginny, Harry followed his friends into the night.

HPHPHPHPHP

Later, Harry stumbled alone through the castle under his Cloak; his traitorous feet moving him forward and his mind swirling with pain.

 _Remus and Tonks – dead. Lavender Brown and Colin Creevey – dead. So many others – dead. And Snape – dead and yet a surprise hero. He couldn't get his mind around what he'd seen in the Pensieve, even though the images defined what Harry now knew were to be the last minutes of his life._

He was relieved, he thought, that Ron and Hermione were not with him. Alone was the only way he could do this, and even so, Harry wasn't sure he would be able to follow through. But he had to follow through, and so he kept walking across the silent grounds.

As many emotions that could have described him right now, all Harry could think about was the unfairness of the thing. Maybe it was because unfairness was close to anger, and anger was something he could stand to feel. It wasn't strong, the anger and unfairness, he didn't have room to feel strong enough anything that might have halted his steps. But still, as he looked back on his nearly 18 years, at how hard he'd been fighting his entire life, it wasn't fair, not at all. It wasn't fair that his years would soon end with the same flash of green light that had defined him for so long, that his years would end so that maybe, others could live.

And then, of course, as if the universe hadn't already played all its cards against Harry, it had to throw one more. As if a spotlight was shining on her, all Harry could see as he walked across the grass was Ginny, kneeling on the ground and talking to a fallen student.

Harry's relief at seeing Ginny unharmed was replaced almost immediately with what felt like a Bludger to his gut. The sense of losing something he'd never really had made Harry unable to breathe. It shouldn't have been harder to leave Ginny than it was Ron or Hermione, but somehow, it felt so much worse. Maybe it was because he'd harbored a tiny hope that, given enough time, he would be able to change Ginny's mind. Now that he knew he wasn't going to have that time, it was like hearing her reject him all over again.

Tears pricked at his eyes and he wiped them away impatiently. He hadn't cried once over Ginny and it felt wrong to start now – grief over a girl when he should really be grieving the end of his life. But maybe that was it, that losing Ginny (or never really having her) made his impending nothingness that much more real. Harry couldn't get his head around the fact he was about to die, but mourning the fact that he'd never so much as kissed the girl he was pretty certain he loved was a loss that felt all too real. And yet, he kept walking.

Only after the lights of the castle had faded away and Harry was consumed by the quiet of the Forbidden Forest did he remember the Snitch.

Once they were there, his parents, Sirius, and Remus, Harry couldn't imagine being able to keep walking without them. He grasped onto their words of comfort as if they were his life line, even while he understood that they were actually giving him a pathway to his end. Harry walked with them, but he couldn't stop staring at his mum and dad, and the place where their hands, looking pale and insubstantial to him, clasped each other firmly. The words burst out of him before he stopped to think.

"You still have each other. After." It wasn't an accusation. He looked at Remus. "And you and Tonks."

James nodded. "It is immense comfort," he acknowledged. Harry looked at his mum and thought he could see the hint of a tear in her eye. She stepped forward and put her hand on Harry's arm; he could only just feel the pressure.

"I know," she said simply. "If I had one wish for you, it's that you could have known this kind of love first." A translucent tear slipped down her cheek and Harry had to resist the need to wipe it away.

James did instead, his hand gentle on Lily's face. "I thought, maybe . . ." he began, and then shook his head. "I love you, son. And I'm so very proud of you."

There was almost nothing more to say. "Stay with me," Harry murmured, and his mum nodded.

"Until the end."

Harry barely felt the stone fall from his fingers as he reached the clearing where he knew death awaited him.

Minutes later, when that preordained moment rushed towards him, Harry thought of Ginny, of fierce friendship and lost opportunity, and desire.

And then he was in a place that looked like King's Cross station and talking to Professor Dumbledore. For the first time that long day, Harry felt a sense of familiarity; the man was talking in riddles he could only partly follow. That the Horcrux in him was gone was certain, and that he'd have the chance to go back after all. But even as Harry was processing that relief, Dumbledore turned coy.

"I sense that it is not only to bring about the end of Voldemort that you wish to go back. There is another, more personal reason, correct?" The man peered at Harry though his spectacles.

Harry swallowed. He suspected, somehow, that Dumbledore was talking about Ginny, and he impatiently shook his head. "I have no expectations about anything," he said. "I just . . . I want to see my friends."

Dumbledore was walking backwards, fading into the mist. "Friends, yes. Friends are important. But I think you might also find it quite . . . _charming_ . . . to keep an open mind. Remember that, Harry." The mist closed around him, leaving Harry to journey back alone.

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Soon after Ginny helped levitate the injured Susan Bones back into the school, she came upon Ron and Hermione, climbing through the rubble of the courtyard.

"Ginny, have you seen Harry?" Ron's voice had an undercurrent of panic.

Ginny shook her head. "I thought he's been with you."

"He was," said Hermione. "And then he wasn't. We thought he'd still be in the Headmaster's office but he's not there."

"Why would he be . . . ?" Ginny began. She shook her head. "Where do you think he is?" She looked at her brother. Ron looked scared. Hermione too, was pale and shaking.

"He better not have gone . . ." said Ron, almost under his breath. "I'll . . . Ginny, what's wrong?"

For Ginny had fallen to her knees, felled by a sudden feeling of indescribable pain. "I'm . . . I'm losing something," she moaned. "It's gone . . . it's completely gone." She put her face in her hands, trying to recapture it. "It's something I wanted . . . that I needed . . . Harry . . ." her words ended in a sob. She barely felt Ron fall to the ground next to her, or heard Hermione's sharp intake of breath.

"Don't say that," Ron said harshly. His hand was gentle on her back. "Harry's not gone. He's not. He's just . . . missing, right now. But not gone," he finished fiercely.

Ginny continued to sob. She had no words for what she was feeling, other than a strong – and growing stronger – sense that she had missed something important, or maybe forgotten it altogether and was just now trying to remember. "It's too late," she said bitterly. "I'm too late."

"Ginny, what are you talking about, what's too late?" Hermione was talking now. Ginny shook her head.

"I don't know," she said quietly. As quickly as it had come, her desperation evaporated and a sense of . . . not peace, but calm overtook her. "It's nothing," she said. She stood up quickly. "I was wrong."

"How could you . . ." started Hermione, and then Voldemort's booming voice rolled through the grounds.

Ginny watched dispassionately as Hermione and Ron fell to pieces with the news of Harry's death. They surrounded her, shocked and devastated, watching Hagrid emerge from the trees with the body in his arms. Their words of disbelief rang hollow to her.

"It's okay," she said softly. "He's not gone." She couldn't explain how she knew, but she did. "There's still work to do, he wouldn't leave when there was still work to do." She grabbed her brother's arm. "And we have to help him, right? Isn't there one more? What is it? You know, I'm sure you know."

Ron looked at her, his face contorted with pain. He had one arm around Hermione and he reached out to touch Ginny's face.

"It's going to be okay, Ginny," he whispered through his tears. "We are going to keep fighting."

"Of course we are," Ginny said calmly. All around her, people were crying, sobbing, screaming at the Death Eaters, throwing things across the courtyard. She didn't quite understand. _Couldn't they see?_ She looked at her brother again.

"We have to get the last one, we have to help Harry destroy it. What do we do?"

But as Ron and Hermione looked at her in confusion, Ginny had her answer. Even with the words of certainty still on her lips, she tasted the sharp tang of bile rising and watched an enormous snake coil and strike. Ginny's vision doubled and blurred and she swayed violently.

"Ginny . . ." the voice sounded far away. "Ginny, it's all right, the snake's gone. Neville killed it. Ginny?"

She forced herself back. _Harry needs me._ She grabbed her brother's hand, and Hermione, and pulled them with her into the castle.

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Ginny, Ron and Hermione were sitting together when Harry approached them under his Invisibility Cloak.

He was beyond exhausted, but Ron, Hermione, and Ginny deserved an explanation before he could rest. Hidden under his Cloak, he led them to a fairly untouched classroom that was usually used for History of Magic. Hermione conjured large cushions and they all sat on the floor and listened silently while Harry talked about the Pensieve, what he had learned about Snape's love for his mother, and the final, terrible revelation that he had been the last Horcrux. He did not mention the Resurrection Stone or seeing parents.

"So, I had no choice. I had to let him kill me." There was no easy way to say it.

Ron swore. Hermione and Ginny both looked horrified. Ginny crinkled her nose.

"But then . . . you came back?"

Harry nodded. "I saw Dumbledore. I can't really explain how, but I did. We spoke. He told me I could come back. And . . . I knew I had things to finish here. People I didn't want to leave." Harry very carefully did not look at Ginny. "So I came back to finish Voldemort for good. Narcissa Malfoy actually saved my life. She told Voldemort I was still dead. I think she just wanted to get back to the castle and find Draco."

Ginny shuddered. "I saw him here, a couple of times. Still being the same arse."

Harry looked at her. "Did he hurt you?"

Ginny shook her head. "Just his usual stupid threats. ' _The Dark Lord is gaining power, better watch out, blood traitor. You have what he wants_.' Stuff like that. Wonder what he thinks now that his Dark Lord is gone."

Ron swore again. "Unbelievable."

Hermione was pensive. "So . . . you were dead, for a little while? And then you suddenly came back?"

Harry nodded. "I think so. I remember the curse, remember talking to Dumbledore, and then I was back in the Forest, on the ground.

"Right," said Hermione. "That must have been when . . ." Harry saw her look quickly at Ginny and then away and wondered what it meant. "Umm, right." She grabbed Ron's hand. "Fancy a walk?"

Ron looked startled for only a second. He jumped up, tugging Hermione with him, Harry's story forgotten for the moment. They walked quickly to the door and barely looked back. "Get a nap, please, Harry," Hermione called over her shoulder as they left.

It was very quiet when they were gone. Harry looked at Ginny, trying to find the right thing to say and hating the fact that it was so difficult to talk to her now.

"Umm, it's good, isn't it? That we found all the Horcruxes?" Harry's tongue felt thick in his mouth and exhaustion made Ginny's face swim before his eyes.

She nodded. "It is. But I'm sure there's going to more work to do."

Harry couldn't even think about what might be next to do. He thought of Ron and Hermione, holding hands, and then how his parents had clasped each other. "Maybe . . . maybe we just need time. To be," he said. His words were slurring, he thought. "To be us, you know?" He wasn't sure exactly what he meant. Ginny gave a little frown.

"I think that we need to focus on making sure all the danger is really gone," she said. "Nothing else." She spoke firmly.

Even though his haze, Harry understood. He stumbled slowly to his feet. "Right," he mumbled. "Okay. Nothing else." He couldn't look back at Ginny and faced the door instead.

"I umm, I'm going up to bed. And food. I'm going up to food." He couldn't be any more clear. "Talk later," he said quietly.

And he walked out the door. Voldemort was dead, the danger was gone. Nothing else had changed.

A/N: And that's the end of Part I! I had originally intended to set up the story with just a prologue and maybe a chapter or two, but apparently, I had a lot to say. Part II coming soon. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!


	11. Part II Interlude: Malfoy

Interlude

 _The once-stately manor house still bore the unmistakable signs of the previous years' use and abuse at the hands of those who had followed Voldemort._ _The bodies were gone and most of the broken furniture had been cleared away, but a careful look revealed splatters of blood that had not yet been cleaned and the dark circle on the parlor ceiling showed where a massive chandelier had once hung._ _The house elves had not yet returned, and it was uncertain if they would._

 _The two blonde men, one haggard beyond his years and one still in the vigor of youth sat in the library, deep in discussion._ _They were in disagreement, but the elder was beginning to yield._

" _I promise, Father. Our situation is better now than it was before the Dark Lord fell._ _We just need to make a few adjustments."_ _Draco's tone was as confident as his stance as he stood by the fireplace._

" _It . . . it was going to be complicated even then, are you sure we can succeed now, without his guidance?" Lucius, in contrast to his son, sounded uncharacteristically uncertain._

 _Draco pounded his fist on the book he was holding. "It's all here, all explained," he said._ _"And with the knowledge the Dark Lord gave you, there is no way we can fail._ _Only this time, it will be me who captures the power, not him."_ _He laughed harshly._ _"And they don't even know what they have inside. It will be too easy._ _Even easier than the last time."_

" _The last time was an enormous failure," cautioned Lucius._ _"I don't think . . ."_

" _That's right, you don't think._ _But I do._ _And I've been watching her for years._ _I know this will work, Father._ _I promise it will._ _The magic in here is strong, stronger than anyone would suspect._ _And if we take the preparations I described, then there is no way we won't succeed."_

 _Lucius bowed his head._ _"All right, Draco._ _Do what you wish, and I will help however I can."_ _The man raised his head._ _"It will be good to restore our name, our power, and our place."_


	12. Chapter 12

Part Two

Ginny huffed with exertion; her wand arm trembled but held steady as she levitated the pile of rocks up and off the path. She lowered them carefully and let out a satisfied breath. Across the path, Harry was moving a similar pile; he set his down next to hers and rubbed his arm.

"I'm going to need one of your mum's muscle potions when this is all done," he said, grimacing. "Want to take a break? I think I saw Ron and Hermione heading up to the castle. There's probably food involved."

Ginny shook her head. "I think I should keep going," she said. "There is a lot more to do before the school is ready for start of term. Since you are going to be here lecturing, we need to make sure you actually have a classroom to teach in."

Harry looked like he wanted to say something else, but he nodded instead. "All right then, I'll leave you to it." He looked up the path. "I'm, ummm, I'm going to get something to eat."

Ginny ignored the way her own stomach was growling. She nodded back. "You do that," she said. "I'm going further down the hill. I think the side path to the greenhouses is blocked." She turned that way and didn't see that Harry watched her until she had disappeared from sight before he walked slowly up to the castle.

It was quieter the farther Ginny got into the trees and she was glad for it. There was so much to do and this way she wouldn't be interrupted. She stopped when her way was blocked by a number of enormous branches and vines; apparently Professor Sprout's spells had done their job. She closed her eyes, thinking about the spells she would need to move and destroy living plants. When she thought she had them in mind, she opened her eyes and raised her wand.

"Helping with the cleanup, are you?"

Ginny whirled around.

Striding down the path, the closest thing to a friendly smile she'd ever seen on his face, was Draco Malfoy.

Ginny froze for a second. They were quite alone; she had been following one of the side paths and didn't realize how far she had walked. The last time she had seen Draco had been during the Final Battle, being hugged by his parents. They had not been arrested like some of the other Death Eaters, and Ginny vaguely remembered hearing a conversation between her father and Harry about why. She nodded stiffly.

"There is a lot to do."

Draco nodded back. "There is. Are you planning to come back to school for your final year?"

"Yes. I want to take my Newts. I have a lot to catch up on, since this past year. . ." she trailed off, worried for a moment about mentioning what it had been like at Hogwarts under the Death Eaters or what Malfoy's own role had been. But then she lifted her chin. "Since this past year, I learned very little of substance in several of my classes."

Malfoy didn't seem offended though.

"I think there are a lot of students in the same position," he said conversationally. "I, personally, was able to finish my education, although I have yet to sit my exams. I'll be back here from time to time for revising."

Ginny wasn't sure what to say to this. She had assumed that after the war ended, she wasn't going to have to see Draco Malfoy again. He was being pleasant, and that made her more nervous than if he had been acting like his usual boorish self. _Still, he and his parents weren't arrested . . ._

"That's . . . that's good," she said. "I umm, I think a lot of former students will be back from time to time. I know that, umm, Harry and my brother and Hermione, and some of the others are going to be here too. To give lectures and things."

Ginny thought Draco's mouth might have tightened when she mentioned Harry, but then he smiled again and she assumed she'd imagined it. "Hmm, that's not a bad idea. Maybe I'll ask Professor McGonagall if she would be interested in having someone with _inside knowledge_ of the Dark Arts, someone reformed, of course, to teach that information." He shrugged modestly. "I very much regret my behavior last year, you know." He shrugged again.

"Oh, umm, yeah. That would be . . . interesting," said Ginny. For a second, she wondered what Harry would think about his former nemesis teaching Dark Magic and whether he would think it useful. "I'm going to help Harry plan his lessons," she blurted out, even though they had discussed no such thing. "He's got so much to do here, and with Auror training too. I'm trying to help him with . . . everything. "

"I'm sure he would appreciate any help you can give him," said Draco slowly. "He has a lot on his shoulders, Harry does. People expect so much from him, and he ends up doing most of the hard work himself, doesn't he?"

Ginny wrinkled her nose. "I . . . I think I helped him a lot, this past year. And I know he couldn't have done what he did without Ron and Hermione."

"True, true, I know they helped him somewhat, but when it comes right down to it, it's always Harry at the end, saving the day." Draco looked thoughtful. "The poor boy could use a break, someone to take on part of his many burdens."

Ginny nodded firmly. "Exactly," she said. "That's what I'm going to do. I know him better than almost anyone; I can figure out what will be the most helpful."

"That's a good thing, that you know him so well," agreed Draco. "You know," he said. "My mum saved his life. At the battle. She lied to the Dark Lord, at great personal risk. She told the Dark Lord that Potter was dead." He looked seriously at Ginny. "If not for my mum, the Dark Lord would have killed Harry right there in the forest." Draco gave her a grim smile. "He never even said thank you."

There was suddenly something less friendly about Draco's expression. "There . . . there has been a lot going on," said Ginny quickly. "I think maybe he's had so much on his mind, he didn't think about it. I need . . . I need to find out what else he needs, to take some of the pressure off of him. I'll ask him. And . . . I'll have him say thank you."

Draco smiled. "I know you will." He raised his wand and blasted away the tangle of vines in front of them. "I'll see you soon, Ginny. Enjoy the rest of your summer." He walked away down the path and Ginny turned and headed up to the castle to find Harry.

He was sitting on the lawn, eating a sandwich. Ginny sat down carefully beside him, trying to ignore how his eyes lit up when they saw her. "Where are my bother and Hermione?" she asked.

"Getting more to eat, of course," said Harry with a chuckle. He pointed at a basket. "I got you food. I knew you'd be hungry. Wouldn't let Ron have any of it."

His familiarity with her eating habits irked Ginny a bit, but she kept quiet. She _was_ hungry, and she _was_ a Weasley. It made sense for Harry to have gotten her food. She opened the basket and peered inside. "Thanks," she said.

"Did you get the pathway clear? I can't believe how much we've gotten done already. Hermione says that once the physical work is complete, there is a lot to do to make sure the magic is put back into the school too. I think she's most excited about that part." He looked fondly up at the castle. "I can't wait until it's all back," he said quietly. "First, and best, home I can ever remember." He gave her a small smile. "The Burrow is second, of course."

"Of course," said Ginny. "Fixing the castle must be more important to you than anyone. Because of that."

"Maybe not more than anyone, but it means a lot to me," Harry agreed.

Ginny nodded firmly. "More than most," she said. She looked at him. "And I bet it's important to be able to teach what you know to the students. When you come to lecture here."

"It is," Harry nodded. "I hope we never face a threat like Voldemort again, but the more students who are brought up learning about how to recognize and defend against the Dark Arts, the better."

"That's great, I agree," said Ginny. "And I want to be able to help you. With planning your lessons and things. I just talked to Draco, down the path, and he . . ."

"Draco Malfoy?" Harry interrupted. "He's here? Where?" His eyes swung around wildly and Ginny saw him pick up his wand.

"I think he left already. For now, at least," said Ginny. "We were just . . . talking. Down by the greenhouses. He . . . "

"You were alone with him?" Harry's eyes flashed and Ginny felt a jolt of annoyance.

"Yes, Harry. We were alone. He was not quite his normal creepy self. He agrees that you need help; you have so much going on. I told him I was going to be helping you plan your lessons and he knows a lot about the dark arts, from . . . before. But I think he's changed . . ." Ginny stopped talking when a furious look crossed Harry's face.

"And you believed him? Hell, Ginny, he put the Cruciatus Curse on you last year!" Harry's voice had risen and Ginny was glad no one else was close by.

"Yes Harry, I'm quite aware of what happened last year. I was here, remember? Doing all I could to help you and going to a school taught by a bunch of Death Eaters at the same time. We all did what we could to survive that year and now we are all picking up the pieces." Ginny tried to keep her voice calm but she couldn't quite mask her frustration. "Or is this just more of you being an overprotective git because . . . because of how you feel about me?"

Harry looked stricken. He opened his mouth but Ginny continued. "Draco told me his mum saved your life, the least you could do is tell him and him mum thank you. If you trust me."

Harry shook his head. "I do trust you, Gin. I just don't trust him. And. . . and it has nothing to do with my . . . feelings for you really." He took a deep breath and Ginny suspected he was lying. "But, that would be great of you, to help me. I'd really like that. And, if I see Malfoy I'll . . . I'll think about it."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Don't make this about me, please," she said. "This is about you."

Harry still looked uncertain. "I'll think about it," he said quietly. "I'll talk to Professor McGonagall too."

Ginny nodded. "Good then." She picked up the basket of food. "I'm going to eat this down by the path I was working on; there is still a lot to do down there." She turned and walked away, not seeing Harry's troubled gaze as he watched her walk away.

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After talking briefly to Harry, Ron couldn't find Ginny fast enough. She was still down by the greenhouses, and seemed to be in a particularly good mood. Ron was relieved to see she was alone. Even as he approached, he saw her blast away a particularly large tangle of vines, a look of glee on her face.

"It's satisfying, isn't it?" he asked her.

Ginny turned around and grinned. "I like blasting things."

Ron looked around and whistled. "And you got all of this cleared yourself? It must have been a lot of work."

Ginny shrugged. "It needed to be done. The castle still needs a lot of work before it's ready for the students and teachers."

Ron tried again. "And you've been alone this entire time?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "What did Harry tell you?" she asked.

Ron knew his sister well enough to recognize the warning in her voice. He also knew that he wasn't going to back down, not yet. He was direct with her. "He said you were talking to Draco Malfoy."

Ginny huffed. "So? It's not like it's the first time. I managed just fine last year by myself."

"No one's saying you didn't," said Ron, trying to keep his voice reasonable. "But now that Harry and . . ."

"Now that Harry fancies me he thinks he can be an overprotective git?" Ginny's eyes blazed with annoyance. "I assume you knew that."

Ron nodded. "I did," he said. "And I don't understand . . . I mean, you guys are kind of perfect for each other."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Like I told Harry already, I think of him as a friend. A really good friend, but that's it. I can't really even . . . imagine feeling differently." She looked at him. "I imagine it's how Harry feels about Hermione. Would you say _they_ are perfect for each other?"

"No," said Ron quickly. "I get it, I guess. I mean, I don't, not really, but it's not really my decision to make."

Ginny gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Hermione is a good influence on you," she said.

Ron sighed. The conversation had not gone as planned. He thought that if maybe, he could just find the right argument, Ginny might realize that yes, she really liked Harry after all. He and Hermione had talked about it, when Harry wasn't around. Neither of them could really remember when Ginny had actually gotten over her childhood crush on Harry, but the two had been friends for so long, it felt odd that it had not become more. _Unnatural_ was the word Hermione had used.

It also made things more tense between the four of them, which was what had led Ron to try to talk to Ginny alone.

He sighed. _Best to let it go._ Pushing Ginny would only make her double down on her insistence that she and Harry were just friends. To be honest, Ron had to believe her; she sounded certain of her feelings. Ron took a deep breath and went back to their earlier conversation.

"So are you going to tell me what Draco said?"

Ginny huffed. "Just that he's going to be back here from time to time, revising for his Newts. And that he regrets his behavior last year."

Ron snorted. "I bet he does. His family was among the first back to our side after Voldemort disappeared the first time. I'm not surprised they'd do the same thing again."

"Narcissa Malfoy saved Harry's life," pointed out Ginny. "I don't think she would have done that if she didn't at least partly regret supporting the Death Eaters." She shrugged. "Anyway, I can take care of myself around Draco. Right now, I'm more concerned about getting the castle in order. The physical rebuilding is hard enough; putting all the magic back in is going to take all our concentration."

Ron chuckled. "Yeah, Hermione has been pouring over spell books with Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. I think it's going to be harder than exams, to get this place finished."

Ginny nodded. "Well, I'll just have to work extra hard then," she said. "I . . . I know how important this place is to Harry. He told me himself. I think we owe it to him to make sure we do a good job."

Ron looked at Ginny oddly. Considering that she insisted that she had no feelings for Harry, she was certainly determined to do everything she could for him. He opened his mouth to ask her about it, but stopped. _Best not to upset her again._ He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but upsetting Ginny felt like a particularly bad idea right now. He nodded instead.

"I'll be sure to do my part," he promised.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: This chapter throws a lot of information at you at once and it was a beast to write. I'm not sure I did justice to what I wanted to do, but suffice it to say that I worked very carefully on Ginny's characterization here, and that all will be revealed shortly. Also, I did mean to end it where I did. Please drop me a review if you want!

Much to Ginny's dismay, and despite her best efforts, Hogwarts was not completely ready by September 1. Ginny and a number of other Seventh Years did not even bother going back to London to get on the Hogwarts Express, but instead stayed up at the school helping to make sure that as much was finished as possible.

It was something of a relief to be back in her dorm with Demelza and Vicky, knowing that the dangers of the previous year were behind them. Ginny flopped down on her bed after the welcoming feast and looked at the schedule Professor McGonagall had handed her: Transfigurations, Charms, Herbology, DADA, Care of Magical Creatures, Potions. To be honest, Ginny wasn't sure she really _needed_ Newts in all these classes; the thought of playing professional Quidditch after graduation still danced in her head more than any other possible career. But despite her Gryffindor courage, Ginny had not found the right moment to tell her parents about her plans. And so, she had chosen her Newt classes for their general practicality more than their particular relevance to her future.

Nonetheless, her very first Transfiguration class was fascinating, albeit difficult. The topic was cross-species transfiguration; the spell required to turn one living animal into another was considerably more difficult than that needed to transform one inanimate object into another, or even that needed to turn an object into a living being. Still, at the end of class, Ginny was pleased that her flobberworm now sported at least a dozen legs and was on its way to becoming a centipede. She was in a cheerful mood as she walked to the Great Hall for lunch, and afterwards, when she saw Harry talking to Fleur (who would be teaching the bulk of the DADA classes until a permanent instructor could be found), she couldn't help but give him a wide smile.

Harry smiled back at her. "Good classes so far?"

Ginny nodded. "And now I'm free for the rest of the day. I think I'll go for a fly; I need to figure out when I'm going to set Quidditch tryouts."

She couldn't help but notice how Harry's eyes lit up at the mention of flying. _He must miss it; he hardly had a chance to be on a broom all last year, and Auror training won't leave him much time for it now either._ "Do you want to come with me?" she asked on a whim. "You probably need the chance to relax before you start Auror training. It's going to be your last opportunity for a while."

Harry's smile grew wider. "You know exactly what to say," he said.

Ginny had to admit, flying with Harry was fun. He seemed to be determined not to mention his _feelings_ for her, and Ginny was mostly able to believe that all that was behind them, and they were going to be able to remain the good friends they were. But every once in a while, she'd catch him looking at her with an expression that was a little less friendly and a little more . . . longing? After the third such look, Ginny suspected that Harry was hiding how he felt; it hadn't actually gone away.

She sighed and leaned in for a dive. She didn't want to hurt Harry's feelings, but for both their sakes, she hoped he got over her soon. It was distracting, and Harry didn't need any distractions right now. Ginny wasn't stupid; she knew that the end of Voldemort didn't mean the end of the work fighting dark magic. There were still errant Death Eaters to find, Muggles who needed their memories modified, and an entire Ministry to rebuild. Harry was going to feel the need to be involved however he could, despite being the one person who deserved a rest more than anyone else.

By the time they landed, the wind had picked up quite a bit and Ginny had to use all her skill to land without getting blown into one of the goal posts. Harry landed beside her a minute later, the wind pushing him several steps past her as he touched down.

"I think there's a storm coming," he said. Indeed, Ginny could see black clouds gathering over the lake. "I'm glad we landed when we did; flying in that kind of wind can be dangerous. Even breezy conditions are difficult for less experienced flyers." He shouldered his broom. "You handled yourself really well up there, even when the weather got bad. The other teams aren't going to know what to do with you."

Ginny shrugged. "Only if I get some decent players with me. I have to hold tryouts soon."

Harry bumped her hip. "I know you'll be great." The smile fell off his face. "Sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to . . . sorry."

Ginny sighed. "It's okay, Harry. I'm beginning to see you can't help it." She bit her lip. "Just, please don't expect anything to change."

Harry nodded. "I know. And I'm sorry." He looked up at the castle and then down the hill. "I actually need to be getting back to London," he said quietly. "Auror training starts tomorrow and I still need to figure out what I'm going to lecture about when I'm here next week."

"I'll try to come up with some topic ideas," said Ginny quickly. "I'd like to do that." She felt a little surge of excitement. _What should she suggest, what would he want to show everyone?_ "I'll send you an owl with a list."

"That would be great, Ginny, thank you." Harry raised his hand as if to touch her, but just a quickly lowered it again. "I appreciate any help you can give me," he said.

"Good luck tomorrow, and try to keep Ron from hexing himself."

Harry chuckled. "I'll do my best. See you in about two weeks." He turned and walked away in the direction of the Apparition point outside the school gates.

"See you then, Harry," Ginny called. She turned the opposite way to put her broom in the storage shed before going back up to the castle.

All the way up the hill, her mind was buzzing with ideas.

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The day Ginny had set for Quidditch tryouts was windy, and she could see immediately what Harry had meant about the difficulties of flying in a strong breeze. More than once, Ginny had to fly off after someone unable to control the direction of his or her broom. By the time she had chosen a full team, Ginny was exhausted from the efforts of the extra spells she had cast to help pull players safely back down to the ground.

"Where did you learn that spell you used to reel in those Second Years? It was awesome!" Beater Jimmy Peakes jogged up beside her as the new team walked to the changing room for a short meeting.

Ginny laughed. "My brother Bill taught me. He caught me stealing Charlie's broom and trying to fly it at home. I'd blown halfway to the village before he caught me. I wanted to learn it right away so I could try it on my brothers, but it took me years to learn and get right. We even modified it to work on yourself if you happen to be flying alone and get blown off course." A thought popped into her head. "I should tell Harry about it; we were just talking about how hard it is to fly in the wind."

"I heard he's coming back on Monday to lecture, I can't wait to hear what he has to say."

"Monday?" said Ginny in alarm. "I didn't realize it was so soon. I was going to send him some lecture ideas, but I've been so busy with homework, I forgot." She frowned to herself. "I'll have to think of something tonight," she muttered. She looked at the assembled team.

"Actually, let's save the meeting for next week," she said. "I think we are all tired from the tryouts."

"You can say that again," groaned Demelza. "I need a shower and a nap."

"And I have a lot of work to do," agreed Ginny. "Put your brooms away and I'll put a note on the common room bulletin board about when we are going to meet and practice."

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That night, Ginny lay in her bed, trying to think of things she could suggest Harry lecture on. Her Newt homework had taken a long time and now she was struggling to stay awake. She forced herself to sit up; her bed was just too comfortable right now.

From the comments she had been hearing, most of the Seventh Years were hoping that Harry was going to tell them exactly what he had done to banish Voldemort. She also knew that this was a topic Harry absolutely did not want to talk about in detail. Just thinking about it herself made her heart break a little to know how alone Harry had been, walking into the forest. But what should he lecture on instead?

 _Dark spells. That would be interesting. Hermione told me they saw magic like none of us could ever have imagined last year._

Ginny felt suddenly energized. That would be perfect. Harry could show everyone how dangerous dark magic could be, and that it wasn't something to be trifled with. That would satisfy him and he wouldn't have to talk about Voldemort and the Horcruxes. She grabbed a piece of parchment, intending to write Harry a letter, when another thought struck her.

 _I should suggest the spells. I should find examples of dangerous spells he can demonstrate how to avoid. He shouldn't have to figure it out himself._

She grabbed her dressing gown and jumped out of bed, thankful her roommates had closed the hangings around their beds. On the landing outside their room, she thought for a second, and then held up her wand. Her Disillusionment spell was pretty good, and hopefully she'd have some luck and not run into Filch or Mrs. Norris.

Ginny made it down to the library without seeing anyone. The Restricted Section was dark, and she lit the end of her wand and scanned the titles as quickly as she could, grabbing the one that looked the most likely to help. It took her another minute to remember the spell needed to disillusion the book too, and she wished she had Harry's Invisibility Cloak instead.

Once safely back in her room, Ginny gingerly put the books on her desk. The volume was old and black and rather eerie looking, and seeing it lying there filled Ginny with a strange sort of dread. She shook off the feeling and sat down, determined to find the best examples to send to Harry.

But the book was confusing, and after an hour, Ginny finally admitted defeat. She was going to need help deciphering the book to find a spell or two Harry could use; there were a couple that looked promising but Ginny wasn't confident she understood them correctly. Closing the book, she got tiredly into bed. She would seek out Fleur and ask her for some help.

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Draco shifted the broom in his hand. _Inconvenient, really, to have to bring it, but he'd look that much more suspicious down at the Quidditch broom shed without one._

A flash of red caught his eye and just in time, he arranged his features into a look of surprise and angled his body so that it and his broom took up more room in the corridor.

"Ginny . . . how are you? Oh, I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

Ginny appeared to have been rushing somewhere but she had to stop or risk tripping over him. She was still looking down the hallway, craning her head, as she responded. "Hello Draco."

He couldn't help but notice the decrepit book in her arms. "What do have there? Looks like it's about to fall apart."

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "Just like all my other books?"

Draco realized his mistake. "No, that's not what I meant," he said quickly. He peered more closely at it. "Just that it looks like something unusual for you to be studying from. Are you suddenly interested in Dark Magic?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, but Harry is. I mean, in fighting it, of course. He's lecturing here in a couple of days and I wanted to give him some examples of dark spells so he could demonstrate how to counter them. You know how busy he must be with Auror training. I want to do what I can to help him."

Draco made a mental note that this was the second time Ginny had mentioned her need to help Harry.

He held out his hand for the book. "Evile Spells, Darke and Dangerous," he said. "Yes, this is a good example. You said you wanted to pick a few for Harry to demonstrate to the DADA classes?"

Ginny nodded firmly. "I couldn't understand any of it, though. I was on my way to ask Fleur for some help." She looked down the hall again. "Will you excuse me? I want to catch her before she leaves."

"Why don't I help you instead?" Draco thought quickly. _Yes, this could work._

Ginny looked uncertain. "I don't . . ." she began.

"I do," he said. He opened the book. "You can't deny, I likely know more about the Dark Arts than Fleur does. I can help you pick out the best spells to show Harry. Ones that will highlight his talent and help him best teach defense against them."

Draco lowered his voice. "I'm sure Harry would really _appreciate_ it if you helped him make his lecture the most effective it can be."

Ginny hesitated another second, then nodded. She lifted her chin. "You would know more about Dark Magic, wouldn't you? And how to avoid it? Since you said you regret your actions last year, I'd think you would want to help teach the students here just how dangerous it can be to get involved in the dark arts."

Draco couldn't help his grudging admiration at Ginny's outspokenness. _Really quite common of her, to say exactly what she thinks, but at least I don't have to guess._

He nodded back. "This book has some spells in it that might fit your purpose," he said. "Let me look through it now while I have some free time and then I'll give it back to you after we have Potions – I'm going to be there today for a review." He pretended to think. "I'll highlight the pages I think will be the most helpful and animate them so that you can see the wand movement and hear the exact way to pronounce each incantation." He forced his voice to remain casual.

Ginny nodded. "Thanks, Draco. I do appreciate the help." She picked up her bag. "I guess I'll see you in Potions then."

Draco watched her walk away before looking around for an empty classroom. He would have to work quickly to get everything done, but it would be much easier than trying to sneak into the broom shed. His father would be pleased.

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Two days later, the day Harry was to come lecture for the first time, Ginny overslept. Her roommates were already dressed and getting ready to leave when Demelza sent a mild Stinging Hex her way. "Hey Gin, how late were you up last night?"

Ginny opened her eyes blearily and then cursed. "Shit, what time is it?" she asked. She looked at the table next to her bed. "I wonder why my wake up charm didn't work," she said, looking at the little model of the sun sitting there. Even as she spoke, it shuddered and chimed, sending beams of light over her pillow. "Must have set the time wrong," she said, frowning.

She managed to bolt down a bit of breakfast before running to DADA just as class was starting. Harry was standing in front with Fleur, and she thought he gave her an odd look as she took her seat. Then he shook his head and turned to the class as Fleur introduced him.

Harry talked about having 'constant vigilance' and never underestimating the dark arts. He demonstrated a shield charm and a number of the hexes and jinxes Ginny had learned as a member of the DA. She had been one of the only Fourth Years in the group, so she supposed it made sense to teach everyone else, but she hoped Harry would include at least one of the spells she had sent him. She had stayed up late the night Draco had returned the book, practicing each of the spells he had shown her before carefully writing down the instructions to send to Harry.

"Ginny, why don't you come help me?" Harry was looking at her and Ginny realized that her mind had wandered. She jumped up.

"One of the spells I sent you?" she asked.

Harry looked uncomfortable. "Uhh, no. Not . . . not yet. Those spells are a little too . . . advanced. I umm, wanted to show them the Patronus Charm. It's something I'd like every student in the castle to learn. Would you demonstrate yours too?"

Ginny nodded, pushing down the disappointment that Harry didn't want to use the spells she had gotten for him. She faced the classroom and closed her eyes, and thought of Quidditch. Next to her, she heard Harry shuffling and then saying quietly, _one, two, three.  
_

Ginny said the incantation firmly but she knew even before she had opened her eyes that it hadn't worked. Harry's stag was cantering around the room and the students were oohing and ahhing. But all that emerged from her wand were a few silvery sparks that evaporated quickly.

"I . . . I guess my thought wasn't happy enough," she said.

"That's the second time you've had trouble with your Patronus, isn't it?" asked Harry. He looked concerned. "You couldn't do it in Hogsmeade either, remember? You were thinking about flying then. What were you thinking about just now?"

Ginny shrugged. "Quidditch," she said. "Maybe I need to figure out a better thought."

Harry nodded. "Keep practicing," he said. "Like when you were first learning it. You used to never have trouble finding a good thought." He put his hand on her arm. "I know you can do it. Really."

He looked so earnest, Ginny suddenly got the feeling that she knew why she was having trouble finding a good thought to cast the spell. As much as she wanted to help Harry, she couldn't deny that the tension between them had changed things. She sighed quietly to herself and then nodded.

"Okay, Harry, I'll do that," she said finally.

HPHPHPHPHP

For the next week, Ginny couldn't stop thinking about how she had disappointed Harry by not being able to produce a Patronus. It didn't help that she had overslept two more times before finally throwing away her sun-charm and asking Demelza to begin waking her.

Newt level work had gotten a lot harder too. After the initial success with her flobberworm, Ginny had been unable to turn her centipede back to its original state. Class after class, it still scuttled across her desk, even while her classmates seemed to find the removal of their insect's legs easier than it had been to add them in the first place. Professor McGonagall told her she needed to practice more before moving onto more complex animals, and Ginny was finding it difficult to carve out enough time for her homework, Quidditch practice, and helping Harry.

She thought she found a solution when a notice went up asking for Sixth and Seventh years to volunteer their time returning some of the advanced magic to the school. Some of the spells were the same as what they were learning in their Newt classes, and Ginny spent long hours working on the newly rebuilt gargoyles, and down by the castle's foundations casting spells and enchantments on the stone so that it would . It was the hardest work she had ever done; each enchantment took fifteen minutes or more of solid casting to finish and by the end of her first day, Ginny was so tired she collapsed on her bed without bothering to go to dinner.

Demelza and Vicky brought her a sandwich later.

"We noticed you weren't in the Great Hall, are you okay?" Vicky looked concerned.

Ginny nodded. "Just knackered," she said. "Those spells to restore magic to the school are exhausting."

Demelza shrugged. "I thought they were kind of fun," she said. "The reanimation charms for the gargoyles were hysterical."

Ginny was too tired to argue. "I just need to sleep," she groaned.

"Are you going to help tomorrow too?" asked Demelza.

Ginny nodded. "I think it's important," she said. "We owe it to . . . everyone, to get the school back together." She yawned. "I'll be better in the morning. Since it's Saturday, maybe I can have a lie-in before going to help."

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The next morning, Ginny awoke feeling refreshed. Professor McGonagall sent her down to the Whomping Willow, which had suffered severe damage during the Final Battle, and Ginny walked across the front lawn in anticipation. She knew the history of the tree and its importance. In her mind's eye, she envisioned Sirius and Harry's father sneaking down there during the full moon to keep company with Remus, and then Harry himself with Ron and Hermione being using the passageway to confront Sirius when they thought he was a murderer. Yes, it would be wonderful to help put things with the tree to rights.

But no matter how Ginny wrestled with the small tendrils of growth at the bottom of the trunk or how carefully she said her spells and replanted the tiny seeds Professor Sprout gave her, she couldn't get anything to grow. She grew dirtier and more frustrated as the afternoon wore on, and by the time Professor Sprout suggested she stop, Ginny was close to tears.

"It's okay, dear," she said. "These spells are tricky." Professor Sprout waved her wand and immediately, a small, bright green shoot pushed out of the dirt. Ginny groaned.

"I may need to talk to Hagrid about getting some Acromantula webs; they are good fertilizer for the new growth." Professor Sprout was muttering to herself as she poked at the dirt with her wand. New tendrils emerged with every tap.

Ginny wiped her eyes impatiently. "Acromantula webs?" she asked. "Like, from those giant spiders in the Forbidden Forest? They would help the tree?"

Professor Sprout nodded distractedly. "Hagrid is the only one who might be able to get me some. Those spiders are dangerous now that Aragog is dead. I'll have to remember to talk to him."

Ginny nodded to herself. "That's a good idea," she said. "Maybe I'll come back after you get them and help some more."

Professor Sprout gave her a smile. "Thank you, dear."

HPHPHPHPHP

Ginny couldn't stop thinking about the Whomping Willow. It was early October now, and Professor Sprout had mentioned that if the tree wasn't repaired soon, they would have to wait until the spring to try again. But at the same time, the Herbology teacher didn't seem to have remembered to ask Hagrid about getting the spider webs, and more than once, Ginny had to stop herself from asking what was taking so long.

It had been a particularly frustrating day that ended in the Hospital Wing. Ginny's animation charm had caused the candlestick she was trying to make dance fly up and whack her in the face. Madam Pomfrey had mended the bruise in a trice, but Ginny couldn't help but think about how Vicky's own candlestick had waltzed easily around the room and Richie Coote's had performed a complicated tango. It hadn't helped that Draco had been in the class too and seen her struggles. She had turned down his offer to walk her to the infirmary and help her with the charm on the way, and left on her own as quickly as she could.

Ginny wasn't normally a competitive person about her grades (she saved that for Quidditch), but being constantly bested by her schoolmates was getting tiring.

She sighed to herself as she walked into the Great Hall for dinner and sat next to Demelza. Things were looking up, one of the dishes the house elves had made was shepherd's pie, her favorite. She waited patiently for a fourth year down the table to scoop some out and then pointed her wand at the dish to Accio it to her.

She wasn't paying much care as she should have been to what she was doing; her attention was Professor Sprout at the head table and why she wasn't getting up to ask Hagrid about the Acromantula webs. _Harry and Ron had visited the Acromantulas their second year; if not for Harry, Ron might have ended up as spider food. She owed it to Harry to get those webs to fix the Whomping Willow._

An annoyed huff next to her interrupted her thoughts. Demelza had jumped out of her seat to avoid the wave of spilled pumpkin juice that was spilling off the edge of the table. The dish of shepherd's pie had apparently knocked it over on its journey across the table.

Ginny jumped up too. "Sorry, sorry, Demelza. I wasn't paying attention." She pointed her wand at the mess and watched as the dripping slowed but did not entirely stop. She shook her head. Thinking about Harry and wondering when Professor Sprout would get back to fixing the tree was distracting her. It was time to figure the problem out on her own.

HPHPHPHPHP

The Quidditch practice Ginny called for Saturday went reasonably well, Ginny thought. She mostly watched from her broom as the other players went though individual exercises and practiced break-aways; she didn't think they were quite ready to try group formations. Not for the first time, she wished Harry was there to help; he seemed to have a natural understanding about how to train the team that Ginny didn't quite possess. Sometimes she thought she was a better follower than leader.

From her position in the air, she could see the Forbidden Forest; it looked much less imposing from this height and without the cover of darkness. Ginny peered in the other direction and could just see Hagrid puttering around the pumpkins he was growing for the Halloween Feast; that would likely take him most of the day, she thought.

After an intense two hours, Ginny sent the rest of the team to the changing room with a vague comment about wanting to go for a fly. She ignored the gentle ribbing of her teammates (and Demelza's caution about the rising storm clouds), before turning away and dipping down to tree-level as soon as they were out of sight.

She flew, low and fast over the Forest until she finally found a break in the trees. Taking a deep breath, she went in for a steep dive, intending to swoop through and grab some of the webs without even touching the ground.

She barely made it out of the Acromantula nest alive.

 _Things went wrong almost immediately; Ginny had no idea how sticky the webs would be and on her first pass, she felt the threads catch the edges of her broom and slow her down. She blasted at them with her wand but missed, and they trailed behind her as she rose into the air again. But her efforts had awoken the spiders and they chattered angrily at her as she circled around for another go. This time, she missed the web completely and felt the pain of a pincered leg scrape her side as she flew by. The contact knocked her to the ground and she rolled awkwardly off her broom, clutching her side. The spiders were coming, and Ginny made the split second decision to run. Just outside the clearing she yelled for her broom and watched, terrified, as it flew awkwardly to her, chased by thousands of spiders and still trailing some of their webs. Only at the last second was she able to rise in the air high enough to escape._

She made it above the trees to find that the weather had indeed taken a turn for the worse. Ginny struggled to stay on her broom and keep it pointed in the direction of the castle, so far in the distance she couldn't even see it through the fog that had rolled in off the lake. Twice she tried the do the self-reeling spell to get her back on track and both times felt her broom drift farther off course. Still, she flew determinedly on. Harry had flown in worse weather during a match in his third year, and moreover, she **had** managed to bring some of the web back with her; it needed to be taken to the Whomping Willow.

So caught up was Ginny in her thoughts that she didn't realize how low her broom had drifted until it was too late to avoid the branch that loomed up in front of her. She hit it awkwardly and fell to the ground, catching several more branches along the way.

The pain, on top of the injury from the spider, was intense, but Ginny didn't think anything was broken. She grabbed her wand, intending to perform a couple of simple healing charms, when a noise behind he made her twist around.

"Ginny, are you okay? What the hell are you doing out here during a storm?" Harry's voice was loud with panic.

Ginny watched as he jumped off his own broom and ran towards her.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said. The pain was making her woozy; she couldn't be bothered to be polite.

Harry shook his head. "I had been watching your Quidditch practice," he admitted. "I'm here for a couple of days to lecture and saw the note in the common room."

Ginny didn't like the idea that Harry had been watching her direct practice without her knowing. _Had he been watching the team or just her?_ But the pain interfered with her thoughts and she couldn't hold back a groan.

"Were you hurt before you crashed? You seemed really unsteady on your broom." He bent down and started healing some her of injuries and she sighed as some of the pain receded. Harry was all business now and Ginny was relieved.

"The spiders scared me," she said. "I . . . I was trying to get some of their webs, to mend the Whomping Willow. I know how much you like that tree."

Harry grimaced. "Like may be the wrong word," he said. "But why didn't you ask Hagrid? You heard what happened to me and Ron when we went in there."

Ginny shrugged. "Thought I could handle it," she said.

Harry frowned. "Can you get back on your broom? The weather is terrible." His hand hovered over Ginny's side, where a rip in her robes showed the gash underneath. "Or . . . should I heal this first? He brushed the torn cloth and Ginny saw him shiver. "It looks pretty bad."

Ginny forced herself to a sitting position. "I'm fine, Madam Pomfrey can mend it." More than anything, she did not want Harry touching her. She shook her head. "Unless . . . you need to practice your healing spells? Are you learning them in training?"

Harry gave her an odd look. "We've just started with them," he said. "I could probably mend this, but . . . it's probably better to get you back to the castle."

Harry flew close to her all the way back; it turned out that he knew the reeling spell too, and used it on her to keep her broom from drifting. Ginny concentrated on staying upright, until they finally landed outside the broom shed.

"I'm fine now, really," she said. "I'm going to just clean off my broom and then go see Madam Pomfrey.

Harry looked like he wanted to disagree, but after a moment, closed his mouth and nodded silently.

"I'll see you Monday; I'm going to be lecturing with Professor Flitwick this time."

Ginny nodded, her attention already captured by the bits of web still sticking to her broom.

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Harry didn't see Ginny at all on Sunday. It was probably for the best; he was still not able to keep his feelings for her completely hidden and it seemed like they could only interact comfortably for short periods before he would do or say something to make them both uncomfortable.

But he would see her in Charms, and he was determined to keep his emotions in check. Maybe she would even arrive early, and he could talk to her as a friend. He could ask her about how her injuries were healing; hopefully that would be a safe topic of conversation.

But Ginny had not arrived by the minute before class was to start and Harry assumed she was trying to avoid him by coming in at the last minute. And then, she did not show up at all. Harry gave his lecture by rote; all the time he wondered if he had messed things up so badly that now Ginny didn't want to see him at all.

When class ended, he had half a mind to search her out, but he couldn't be rude to Professor Flitwick and just rush out of the classroom. So instead, he waited and made small talk with the man, but unable to keep Ginny completely out of thoughts.

"I'll have to find, umm, Ginny, to give her an overview of my lecture since she missed it," he said, feeling awkward.

The Charms professor was packing up his things with a wave of his wand. "She usually doesn't miss class, especially recently," he said. "Newt level has been a challenge for her." He gave Harry a small grin. "And I'm surprised Miss Weasley would have wanted to miss a class where you were going to be." The professor chuckled. "She had such a big crush on you when she was younger she asked me to perform a temporary charm to keep her from liking you so much. It's a small thing and I was happy to help."

Harry stared at the man. "A . . . charm? On Ginny?"

Professor Flitwick nodded. "Harmless really, although, she did ask me to add a second part to it." He thought for a moment. "She asked me to make it so that people wouldn't talk to her about you saving her in the Chamber of Secrets too. I guess it made her upset to think about." He shrugged. "But it's all neither here nor there," he said. "The charm would have broken as soon as Miss Weasley . . . _attained puberty_." He looked at Harry. "When she began to bleed," he added delicately.

Harry was almost dizzy with the news. He sat heavily in one of the chairs. "And you are sure that she hadn't . . . started . . . at the time you did the charm?" he asked faintly.

Professor Flitwick frowned. "I'm not sure I asked," he admitted. She was so small, I just assumed . . ." his voice trailed off.

Harry jumped to his feet. "And what if she had already, you know, started bleeding, before you did the charm?"

The man's face paled. "How many years has it been?" he asked faintly.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Going backwards just a bit. And, lots of feels coming soon . . .

Ginny woke up early he morning after her attempt to get Acromantula webs feeling like she was made of one big bruise. Madam Pomfrey's healing spells had helped a lot, but Ginny hadn't waited the full time for them to take effect. Instead, she had run back to her dorm as soon as she could to see if she could finish cleaning off the web she had managed to grab; she wanted to put it around the Whomping Willow that day.

She didn't see Harry at breakfast and she was glad for it; while she had to admit that she might not have made it out of the Forest without him, she hadn't been able to ignore the way he looked at her while he was healing her injuries. It made her uncomfortable to think about, even now. Better that she make things right between them by fixing the Whomping Willow.

And to be honest, Ginny really didn't want Harry to ask her any more questions about why she had flown so badly in the first place. Yes, she had been scared by the spiders, but Ginny was not a coward, and she wasn't Ron. She hadn't frozen in fear, she just . . . hadn't been able to fly well and the words for the self-reeling spell hadn't come naturally to her lips. Deep down was the fear that maybe her abilities had peaked; she didn't seem cut out for Newt level work and now she had reached the limits of her talents in the air. If that was the case, then Ginny realized her dreams of playing professional Quidditch were just a folly. She was going to need to figure something else out.

She wasn't looking where she was going and therefore was shocked when a hand reached out and grabbed her roughly. "Ginny, thank Merlin I found you," a voice said.

Ginny looked up and realized she had nearly run into Draco Malfoy. She frowned; he looked almost ill. His face was pale and he was shaking. The hand that grabbed hers felt clammy and she instinctively pulled away.

"What's wrong?" she asked impatiently. "I'm in a hurry right now."

Draco looked around and then lowered his voice. "It's Harry. He's in trouble."

Ginny's veins turned to ice. She was hardly aware as Draco tugged her through a door into a nearby classroom. Actually, not a classroom, she realized. Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was as damp and empty as always; even the ghost herself was gone. Ginny clutched Draco's arm. "What's wrong with Harry? Where is he?"

Draco looked grim. "Ginny," he said quietly. "Do you know what a Horcrux is?"

Ginny froze. "I do," she said quietly. "But . . . Harry destroyed all of them. I'm sure of it." She had no idea if Draco knew that Harry himself had been a Horcrux and something kept her from revealing that knowledge now. How could Draco think otherwise?

He was wringing his hands with worry as he spoke; talking so quickly that the words tripped out of his mouth and Ginny had to strain to understand.

"It's Nagini," he said. "We had no idea; the Dark Lord had no idea . . ." his voice trailed off.

Ginny shook her head impatiently. "Neville killed Nagini, I saw it," she said. "We all saw it."

Draco nodded. I . . . I know. But apparently, Nagini laid an egg before she died. Just a single egg. She built a nest for it, somewhere it would be safe and warm. She must have known she might not be around to care for it."

Ginny was shaking. "And . . . ?" she asked quietly.

"And that egg hatched. The snake that was born, Nagini's offspring, has a bit of the Dark Lord's soul inside of it. It's been living in the castle, getting bigger and stronger these last months. And now the soul is strong enough to resurrect the Dark Lord." Draco looked seriously at her. "Ginny, the snake is sentient. Do you know what that means?"

Ginny knew, but she couldn't make her mouth work. Draco took a step closer to her.

"It knows, Ginny. It can think for itself. The snake is going to look for Harry. It plans to kill him."

Ginny's legs gave way. She would have fallen to the floor had Draco not waved his wand to keep her upright. The bathroom swam before her eyes. "I . . . I don't understand," she said weakly. "How . . .?"

"Don't you remember?" Draco's eyes glittered with something that looked like accusation. "You were supposed to kill Nagini months ago. But you didn't, and now look what has happened."

Ginny shook her head. "I . . . I don't . . . I don't remember that," she said, confused. But her thoughts were swirling. _Was she was to have killed Nagini? There was something Harry had asked her to do, true, but the snake? Why would he ever have asked her to kill a snake? He knew how she felt about them, didn't he? But . . . maybe that was what he really needed from her. He had taught her the Patronus charm, it was supposed to have made her feel better about the snakes. He had thought she could do it – could help him. And she'd failed. Why couldn't she remember?_

She spoke the last out loud. "Why can't I remember?"

Draco shrugged. "Maybe someone put a memory charm on you," he said flippantly. "But I can assure you, it's what you were supposed to do. To really be a help to Harry."

With a sickening lurch of her stomach, Ginny suddenly _did_ remember. . . something. Not the details, but in her mind's eye she could see herself, standing on a pathway above the Hogshead with Ron and Hermione and Harry. And Hermione had done something to her, something with her wand. Ginny moaned. "There was a memory charm. I remember it now."

She missed the look of surprise that crossed Draco's face at her words. "There was?" he asked. He quickly shook his head. "I mean, you should have remembered something this important anyway. It was your one task for Harry. To kill Nagini. And you failed." He peered at her. "You need to make it right."

"Anything," she whispered. "I'll do anything."

"That's what I thought," said Draco. "I'm here to help you, of course. Remember that, for as long as you can."

Ginny wasn't exactly sure what happened next. Her shock at hearing that there was another Horcrux and that Harry was in grave danger – from a snake – made it too difficult to focus on what Draco was doing. "You need to go back into the Chamber," she heard him say. "The snake is down there." He was waving his wand around her, saying something that sounded vaguely familiar. She forced herself to speak.

"What . . what is that?" she asked shakily. "I've heard it before." Her head was pounding.

"You have," agreed Draco. "It's a spell I showed you when you were looking for dark magic to send to Harry. Not one of the ones you asked about, of course. Something else. Funny, how that all worked out so well. We had planned to use your broom instead, but that would have taken longer, been less precise. It was fortuitous that you handed me a better way."

Ginny had no idea what Draco meant. He was waving his wand around her in a way that Ginny vaguely remembered from when she had practiced the spells Draco had animated for her.

"What does it do?" Ginny felt sluggish. She thought she should help Draco; if she could help him they would be able to help Harry that much faster. She lifted her wand and tried to copy his movements. Orange and yellow sparks were shooting out of his wand but Ginny's only made fuzzy gray smoke.

"You're going to find this spell too difficult, I suspect." Ginny heard Draco speaking but she could only think about helping Harry. "You have found a lot of your spells difficult lately, haven't you?" He waved his wand again, said more words. "It was only to test out the potency of the curse the first time. I think now we are ready for the rest."

One word pierced through the haze in Ginny's mind. "Curse?" she asked.

Draco nodded. "The curse Harry faces if you aren't quick enough to save him." His next words were so quiet Ginny wasn't sure she'd heard him right. "And the one that I put on you, of course."

 _Something was wrong._ Ginny knew, suddenly, that Draco wasn't there to help her. _I have to stop him._

She raised her wand and pointed it at him. He turned and watched her, seemingly unconcerned, a strange smile on his face.

"Stupefy," she said, as loudly as she could. Her voice seemed to echo in the room. Her wand jerked feebly in her hand but nothing else happened. Draco's smile grew wider.

"That's what I thought," he said. "I'm really very sorry, Ginny, but this is the only way I know to have you open the Chamber. You may not remember it directly, but your subconscious still knows the words. And then, you will go down there again and wait. My father will be here tomorrow. He's bringing the relic, and we can finish what the Dark Lord had planned. Harry will be there at the right time, but not before. And I'm afraid it will be too late by then for you." He stepped closer to Ginny and raised his wand.

" _Imperio."_

HPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry stared for a long moment at Professor Flitwick. "Six years," he said tersely. "We need . . . I can find out." Without waiting for the man to say anything else he grabbed some Floo powder from the mantle and threw it into the fireplace.

"The Burrow!" he yelled. To his relief, Molly's face appeared almost immediately.

"Harry?" she asked. "What . . . is something wrong? I thought Ron said you were at Hogwarts this week."

It pained Harry to think that his appearance portended danger, but he didn't have time to dwell. "I'm actually not sure, Molly, but I have an important question that I need answered. I'll admit, it's a little strange, especially coming from me, but it's important."

Behind Molly, he heard Ron's teasing voice. "When have you not been strange, mate?"

Molly swatted behind her. "Of course Harry, what do you need to know?"

Panic eliminated his embarrassment and he spoke without hesitation.

"Can you tell me, if you remember, exactly when it was that Ginny first got her period?"

Molly looked confused for a moment; clearly that was the last thing she had expected Harry to say. But she seemed to understand the importance of brevity.

"It was right before she turned twelve," she said. "While were in Egypt." She chuckled a little. "She was so moody, it drove Ron crazy."

Harry suddenly remembered Ron's letter to him from Egypt, complaining about how Ginny had spent the entire day in the bathroom, and that she was acting more mental than usual. Indeed, Ron's face appeared beside his mother's.

"Is that why Ginny spent days crying in the loo? Why didn't you tell me?"

Molly rolled her eyes. "Would you have really wanted to know?"

Harry interrupted whatever Ron was going to say back. "So, the summer before her second year of school?"

Molly nodded assent. Behind Harry, he heard Professor Flitwick swear an uncharacteristically harsh oath. Fortunately, Molly didn't seem to hear, but by the look on Ron's face, Harry knew that he had. "Is this something for one of your lectures?" she asked.

Harry thought that was the best assumption for Molly to have just then. He nodded. "Something like that," he said." He was about to say goodbye when the green flames swirled suddenly higher and Ron stepped out of the fireplace. He looked back at his mother. "I'm going to stay here, mum, help Harry with his Charms lecture so he doesn't bollocks it up." He looked pointedly at Harry, and lowered his voice. "Something's going on, isn't it?"

Harry nodded tersely. As soon as Molly had gone, he turned to Professor Flitwick. "You can take the charm off her with no ill effects?"

"What charm?" asked Ron sharply. Not the memory charm Hermione did last year, right? Is this why Ginny has been more mental than usual? Why she doesn't . . .?" he looked at Professor Flitwick and stopped talking.

The tiny professor looked concerned. "She had a memory charm put on her? That will make things a big more difficult, but it can be done. Removing a charm like this, especially one that has been growing for so long, will require careful manipulation of her magic. I suspect it has gotten strong enough over the years, to bind with her magic in a number of places. " He rubbed at his eyes. "How could I be so careless?"

"Does someone want to fill me in on what the hell is going on?" Ron's voice was calm, but Harry could hear the undercurrent of worry. "Should I get Hermione?"

"She's the one who did the memory charm?" asked Flitwick. "It can't hurt to have her here when I start removing the bigger charm.

Quickly, Harry filled in Ron about what Ginny had asked Professor Flitwick to do at the start of her second year of school. "And she also had the charm prevent people from talking to her about the fact that I rescued her from the Chamber." He frowned. "It's true, I don't really remember that. I know she still had nightmares about being down there, and about snakes, but we never talked about me. And then we kind of stopped talking about it at all."

The professor nodded. "And over time, the charm probably got stronger, made it harder to mention for any reason. He looked up at Harry and Ron. "I need to know how else the charm affected her."

Harry ran his hand through his hair. "What do you mean? I don't know how it affected her."

Professor Flitwick sat down at his desk. "Have you noticed that her personality has seemed at all, off, lately? The main purpose of the charm was to eliminate her girlhood crush on you. If I remember correctly, her guilt over what happened to both of you in the Chamber was tied to her belief that Lucius Malfoy gave her the diary, and then Tom Riddle was able to get her to pour so much of her soul into it, because they took advantage of the feelings she had for you. She asked me to eliminate them."

"And if she had still . . . been a child, when you did the charm . . .?"

Flitwick nodded. "It would have broken as soon as puberty began. It's a charm meant for children only." He sighed. "It had a second part, as I mentioned. She didn't want people to be able to talk about you saving her in the Chamber when she was around. She just didn't want to think about it. But . . ." The man pursed his lips.

"But what?" asked Harry.

But . . . with the age issue, and the time the charm has been on her, it's likely to have . . . warped. Quite a bit."

"How would it have warped? Is it dangerous?"

Flitwick shook his head. "It shouldn't be, no, although the addition of the memory charm makes things more complicated. As I said, it has probably just ingratiated itself into parts of her magical energy by now. If she had gotten sick, with a serious illness, I mean, there could have been complications, but fortunately that did not happen. No, instead, the charm likely strengthened over time." He looked sharply at Harry. "I am correct to assume, am I not, that Ginny has never shown any romantic feelings for you?"

Ron snorted. "That's an understatement."

Harry felt faint. He shook his head. "None," he said hoarsely. "None at all. Even after I . . . _especially_ after I," he looked at Flitwick. "I have feelings, though. I have for . . . for a while now. And she didn't want to hear about them. She insisted she could never feel that way about me, that we were only friends."

"Hermione and I thought she was mental. Ginny and Harry are perfect for each other." Ron had a serious look on his face as he processed the information. "And you're saying it was a charm that kept her from knowing that?"

Flitwick nodded. "But did she display other unusual behavior? Beyond not reciprocating your feelings, I mean. Was she uncharacteristically hostile, indifferent, reckless?"

Harry sat up straighter. "Reckless?" he said. "Like, flying into the Forbidden Forest to try to get Acromantula webs?"

Ron swore and Flitwick's eyes opened wide. "She did that? Do you know anything else?"

"There was the way she acted about getting the tiara Horcrux," Ron said. "Remember? She tried to get back to school to get it."

Harry nodded and explained more the Flitwick. "She tried to sneak back to Hogwarts after it became too dangerous for her to be here last year. I just barely caught her before the Dementors did."

"And then, once Harry and Hermione and I finally went back, before the final battle, she insisted on coming with me." Ron looked at Harry. "She was almost manic, wasn't she? About finding the tiara in the Room of Requirement?" He shook his head. "She was extremely determined to do anything she could to help Harry. To help him defeat Voldemort. And then, once he was gone . . ."

"She's been trying to find other ways to help this year, and risking all types of danger to do them," Flitwick finished. "I understand."

Harry didn't. "What do you understand?" he asked.

Flitwick's voice was gentle. "Magical energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change form," he said. "When the charm grew in strength over time, it worked harder to prevent Ginny from having any feelings for you develop. But all that excess energy had to go somewhere else. Apparently it created an almost manically reckless desire to help you." He held out his hands. "If Ginny was never truly meant to have feelings for you, the charm would have had no effect, it would have simply evaporated. But by the mere fact that she has put her very life at risk, over and over, we may safely conclude that . . ." the man stopped. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I imagine the past year been quite difficult for you."

"I knew Ginny was mental for not liking Harry!" Ron sounded almost triumphant. "So let's get the damn charm off her so the two of them can have a proper snog."

"Ron . . ." began Harry weakly. He wasn't sure what to think. The fact that there had been a magical reason for Ginny's behavior this past year was not comforting to him, not yet. It was overshadowed by the need to just make things right first. Harry looked at Flitwick. "What will happen when you remove the charm?"

"Ginny'll probably throw herself at you, right?" Ron was grinning. He stood up and went to the Floo. I'm going to get Hermione, okay?"

Flitwick nodded, and then turned to Harry. "I don't know that it will be that easy," he said. "I've . . . I've never had an experience like this before; I don't know how long it will take, after the charm is removed, for Ginny's emotions to regulate and normalize."

"Charm? What charm?" Hermione had emerged from the Floo and was looking at them with interest. As soon as the others explained what was going on, Harry saw her characteristic _must find a book_ flash across her face. She turned to Professor Flitwick. "But this implicates McDonough's theorem, doesn't it?"

Ron rolled his eyes and looked at his girlfriend. "English, please?"

Flitwick looked at them. "It's like I said, the charm has been in effect for so long, much longer than intended, without breaking. McDonough theorized that the charm like that organically changes to take on some of its host's traits and emotions, that it starts to behave in ways unique to the person it affects. So we don't know exactly what it has done inside of Ginny."

At Harry's horrified look, the professor rushed on. "But still, it's not dangerous, as I said." He looked around. "We should probably stop talking and find Miss Weasley. The sooner we get started, the better." He picked up his wand. "I'll contact Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey; I need to cancel the rest of my classes for today and we should probably meet in the Hospital Wing.

Harry picked up his robes. "I have the Map; I'll see where she is." He looked at Ron and Hermione. "She didn't come to class; I think maybe she wanted to avoid seeing me."

Ron shook his head. "Not for long," he said bracingly.

But they could not find Ginny on the Map. Hermione and Harry poured over every inch of parchment while Ron ran up to the Seventh Floor. He came back quickly.

"She's not in the Room of Requirement," he said.

"Let's ask her roommates, maybe she went for a fly," said Harry. He looked outside. The weather was even worse than it had been on Saturday. "But I hope not. She could barely stay on her broom the other day."

"Ginny, unable to stay on her broom?" Ron sounded incredulous. "Damn, that charm must really be messing with her. Ginny flies as well as you do, Harry."

Harry nodded. Unease was growing in his belly but he ignored it. They had to find Ginny first.

But Demelza and Vicky hadn't seen her either. Demelza wrinkled her nose. "Actually, I didn't even have to wake her up this morning. That's unusual."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione. "Why do you wake her up? She has that sun charm clock I gave her for her birthday."

Demelza nodded. "I think it stopped working though. It wasn't waking her up at the right time, so she asked me to start waking her instead. But she was gone by the time I got up today."

Hermione frowned. "The clock should not have stopped working, it just requires a simple charm each night. Something a first year could do."

"Ginny has been having trouble with Charms this year," said Vicky quietly. "Transfiguration too."

"What do you mean, trouble?" asked Harry sharply. He looked at Professor Flitwick. "Didn't you say that Newt level seemed to be hard for her? Could that be because of the charm?

The professor shook his head. "It wouldn't affect her magical talent," he said. He frowned. "I did notice her struggles, but not every student has the ability to go to Newt level. Miss Weasley should have been fine, thought. She has always been a strong student."

Professor McGonagall was there now too, and now she looked concerned. "Pomona Sprout mentioned that Ginny had a lot of trouble trying to repair the Whomping Willow," she mentioned. "Basic growing spells and things."

"And she knocked over the pumpkin juice trying to Accio that dish of food a couple of weeks ago, remember?" Vicky's eyes were wide. "I thought she was just not paying attention. But a proper Accio should have avoided anything in its way, right?"

Harry had heard enough. "Something's wrong," he said. "Something more than the charm." He looked around. "Could she have done something reckless to affect her magic?" He looked down at the Map and then at Ron and Hermione. "What else doesn't show up on the Map?"

"The tunnels don't," said Hermione. She looked at Professor Sprout. "You said she had been working on the Whomping Willow, could she be down there?"

The professor shook her head. "I was just there with my Fifth Years. No sign of her."

"And the other tunnels are still blocked," said Professor McGonagall. "We decided that repairing them could wait until the rest of the castle was back to normal." She looked concerned. "She can't have left the castle without anyone knowing."

Harry felt the blood suddenly drain from his face. "I know one other place that doesn't show up on the Map," he said. "I know where she is." He looked bleakly at Ron and Hermione. "She must have thought it would help me somehow, if she's being that reckless." He looked at his friends and saw the awareness growing in their eyes. "I bet she's gone down into the Chamber."

Ron groaned. "Again?" he asked. "What the hell is she thinking? There isn't anything down there that can help you."

Harry shook his head. "I doubt she was thinking clearly about it." He stood up. "We'll need to go to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

Demelza looked up. "Wait, did you say Myrtle's bathroom?"

Harry looked at her. "Yes, the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is there."

Demelza looked distressed. "I . . . I saw Ginny going in there, yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Harry grabbed the girl's arm. "Are you sure?"

Demelza nodded. "I didn't think anything of it, I was in a hurry to get to breakfast because I was late." She bit her lip. "But . . ."

"But what?" asked Harry. _Ginny has been down there since yesterday? What could she be doing?_

"She wasn't alone," Demelza whispered. "Draco Malfoy was with her."


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I'll admit, parts of this chapter didn't do exactly what I wanted them to (although parts definitely did), but there is at least a reason behind them. It didn't help that I got a rather flaming review while I was halfway done writing it, from an author I was familiar with (but have never communicated with before). I welcome all sorts of feedback, particularly that which includes thoughtful critique, but I really don't get the need some people feel to tear another writer down without being constructive. Especially since it appeared the reviewer read all the way to the start of Part II before commenting. If you hate something I've written that much, why continue?

By the time Draco's Imperius Curse had worn off completely, Ginny was far down into the tunnel leading to the Chamber. If light from the bathroom above had made it into any part of the passageway, Ginny couldn't see it now; the space she stood in was almost pitch black.

"Lumos," she whispered. A spark guttered at the tip of her wand for a moment and then flickered out. She tried again, forcing herself to concentrate on nothing but the light. This time, her wand glowed faintly with a weak yellow that revealed only the stone walls immediately to her sides and a foot or so of the path ahead. It was halfway blocked with fallen stones, and from the scratches on her hands and the ache in her arms, Ginny suspected that this was not the first obstacle she had encountered down here.

There was a strange prickling on the back of her neck and she whirled around, holding her wand high to try to see back the way she had come. But only darkness greeted her, and her wand's light seemed even less able to pierce the blackness behind, so Ginny turned around again and began to lift the rocks out of her path.

She had no idea how long she walked, tripping over stones in the silence. A rockslide caught the edge of her robes and as she tugged at the cloth, more came loose from the wall. She shrugged out of the garment right there and let the rocks fall where they may, not caring that beneath it, she was only dressed in thin pajamas. How long ago her casual Sunday breakfast seemed now.

She pushed aside yet another pile of rocks blocking her path, wishing yet again that she could just blast them away with her wand, or at least charm them to weigh less. The prickling on the back of her neck was getting stronger and she suspected she was finally getting close, even though her memories of the last time she'd been here were murky.

She didn't want to continue. Her worst nightmare was coming true, the chanting in her head was getting louder that once again, this was all _her fault, her fault, her fault._

But even louder was Draco's voice, warning her that Harry was going to die. Again.

So Ginny plodded on.

HPHPHPHP

Silence greeted Demelza's revelation, and then the room exploded.

"Malfoy? What the fuck?" said Ron. Behind him, Hermione said "yesterday?" in a faint voice. She looked almost sick.

"I don't know that . . ." began Professor Flitwick hesitantly.

"I do," interrupted McGonagall. "I know the Ministry had its reasons for not prosecuting, but I never agreed with them."

Harry was still holding Demelza'a arm and now he twisted her to face him. "How did she look?" he asked quietly. Every inch of him was screaming that he needed to run down to Myrtle's bathroom _this instant_ , but even three months of Auror training had ingrained into him the importance of taking the time needed to get the facts first.

"He did something to her, I know it," said Ron.

"Shut up for a second, will you?" Harry fought to control his panic. _It's been over a day._ He looked at Demelza again. "Was he touching her?"

Demelza gave a tiny nod. "He . . . he had his hand on her arm, was kind of tugging her. I . . . I didn't see her face." She looked horrified. "But she didn't seem to be resisting that much; it was more like he was leading her there." She took a deep breath, and then a sob escaped her. "Why didn't I stop? After the way Malfoy was last year, I should have known something was wrong."

"But he's been decent this year, when he's come for revising," broke in Vicky. "And Ginny said he was trying to make up for . . . how he acted." She shrugged. "Last week she told me that he was helping her with something or other. Something that was good for Harry." She looked at the group. "I don't know what it was though."

"Ginny never would have trusted Malfoy, not for a second," said Ron. He looked at Harry. "She told you he was going to help her? With planning your lectures or something?" He shook his head. "I should have argued with her more when she said she thought he changed."

"It's the charm, it's got to be," said Harry in a choked voice. "Making her think it would be a . . . help to me if she worked with Malfoy."

"That certainly would fit her recklessness," said Flitwick quietly. "I can't imagine Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy cooperating under any other scenario."

Harry had heard enough. "We have to get her." He turned towards the door just as it opened. Fleur and Bill walked in, looking tense.

"I got your message," Fleur said to Professor McGonagall. "And I called Bill. I think 'e needs to be here."

Harry nodded. "Good idea," he said. "Ginny may have . . . been cursed."

"Where?" said Bill sharply. He was already in motion next to Harry.

"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Chamber of Secrets," said Harry. He knew Ron and Hermione and the professors were behind them but he didn't stop to see if they were keeping up.

He and Bill both pulled up short outside of the bathroom door. It was class time so fortunately the corridor was deserted. Harry held out the Elder Wand. He hadn't really questioned why he'd felt it important to start carrying it these past weeks; now he wondered if on some level, he had recognized that he would need the extra power. "Homonem Revilio," he said, unsurprised when the spell indicated the bathroom was empty.

"Go in carefully anyway," said Bill. "I'll look for a magical signature."

Any faint hope Harry had that he was wrong, that Ginny wasn't really down _there_ , evaporated as soon as Bill eased open the bathroom door. The sinks against the wall were gone, a gaping dark hole in their place.

"She's in there," Harry said quietly.

The others had caught up with them now, and they waited to file in carefully behind Bill and Harry.

Bill began walking a wide circle around the room. His face was set in tense lines as he muttered incantations and held out his wand in a way that made it seem like he was pulling _something_ out of the very air in the room. It hovered in front of him, glowing faintly orange. He swore.

"It's an untethering curse."

Next to him, Harry heard Fleur and Flitwick and McGonagall make sounds of distress.

Harry ignored them "What does that mean?"

Bill looked pained. "There is no way to make a wizard or witch truly non-magical; to turn them into a Muggle, so to speak," he began. "You are either magical, or not. But there are ways to change or weaken or hide someone's magic, some more permanent than others. Or. . . in this case, untether the magic from the witch or wizard so they are no longer able to access it. According to the curses I pulled from the air, that's what Malfoy did yesterday before Ginny went into the Chamber."

"Yesterday?" asked Harry. "But her roommates said Ginny's magic has been weak for weeks."

Bill shrugged. "Maybe the curse didn't work well enough the first time. It's the kind that strengthens over time; maybe they didn't think it was working quickly enough on her. But there is no doubt that the spell was performed here within the last day." His wand twitched in his hand and Harry knew that Bill was resisting the urge to blast something and then jump into the tunnel; it was exactly how Harry himself felt.

"What happens? When magic is untethered?" Harry felt sick.

Bill looked grim. "As the magic loosens within the witch or wizard, they have less of it at their disposal to use. That's why Ginny was having problems with simple spells; it would have taken a lot more energy and focus to get them right and she probably didn't notice at first. Eventually, if the spell keeps strengthening, she would find it more and more difficult to perform magic no matter how hard she concentrated."

"And what if it becomes completely untethered? Where does it go?" Harry spoke quietly, as if keeping this conversation between only him and Bill could somehow make it not real.

"That's just it," said Bill. "If magic is completely untethered, it's not available for the witch or wizard to use. But . . ." here Bill stopped, looking ill.

Harry suspected he already knew the answer. "But then someone else can take it," he finished grimly.

Bill nodded. "The only reason I can think of that Malfoy would want to untether Ginny's magic is to be able to use it for something, a ritual maybe. Only very Dark magic makes use of another wizard's power." He paced across the room and looked down into the tunnel. "She's likely still . . . alive," he said. His voice shook on the last word and Harry felt his heart drop. "A spell like that takes time to complete." Bill was speaking as if he was trying to convince himself it was true. "Do you have any idea what Malfoy might be planning?"

Harry did have some ideas, each more horrible and unbelievable than the last. Being back in the bathroom, looking down into the entrance to the Chamber where Ginny was had awoken all sorts of terrible thoughts in Harry's mind. But before he could say anything, the silvery figure of a horse appeared in their midst.

"Ginny's Patronus," said Harry roughly. And it was, sort of. Harry could tell immediately that something was wrong. It was much more pale than normal, almost translucent. And where its legs should have been was just swirling mist, as if the figure was having trouble forming. After a moment, it spoke in a voice that was Ginny's, but not.

"Harry . . . I need help. You know where I am. I . . . I need help. Please come find me. Harry. You must come . . . alone. If . . . if you come. To save me. Please . . ."

Her words were faint and stuttering, and entirely lacking in emotion. Still, Harry hung onto every one of them for the proof that Ginny was still alive.

"She's under the Imperius Curse," said Bill. He was holding his wand so tightly that Harry could see where Bill's knuckles turned white. Fleur came up beside him and put her hand on his arm. He relaxed a fraction before speaking again. "There is no way she would have enough magic left to cast that Patronus otherwise."

"I'm going down there," said Harry. He took several steps towards the gaping hole in the wall."

"It's a trap," said Hermione. Harry was not surprised to see that both she and Ron had their wands out and looked ready to join him.

"Of course it is," said Harry. "And I'm the only one who can spring it." He gripped the Elder Wand. "We can't risk sending down a big group, not when we don't know what they are doing to her." He took a deep breath. "But I suspect there is a reason they chose that place." He looked at everyone. "It has to be me."

Bill nodded tersely, and that seemed to decide it. "We'll be waiting here. Send a Patronus as soon as you can."

Harry nodded back. "Contact your parents," he said to Ron. "Tell them . . . tell them I'm sorry."

Ron looked about to say something, but stopped when Harry shook his head. "Just tell them."

He gave the assembled group one last look and slipped into the tunnel.

He was probably imagining it, but Harry thought he could catch faint whiffs of something flowery as he walked through the dank tunnel. It reminded him of Ginny.

He was mentally berating himself as he walked. Ginny's behavior had been off for months; even Ron and Hermione had noticed. It had begun around the time Harry had first confessed his feelings for her; actually, he realized, it was probably _caused_ by his confessing his feelings for her. The charm, lying dormant as long as he and Ginny were just good friends, suddenly had had something to do. He rubbed the hand not holding the Elder Wand over his face. Ron had called Ginny mental, but Harry had been to wrapped up in disappointment and hurt and trying not to crowd Ginny to consider what her behavior might actually mean.

It was an enormous failing. Harry hadn't been so arrogant that her rejection had immediately alerted him that something was wrong, but he knew her well enough that the attendant behavior – the recklessness, the way her emotions seemed to turn on a knut, _her willingness to believe Malfoy_ , for Merlin's sake, should have been more than enough warning.

According to Professor Flitwick, the charm had gotten so strong – and caused her to be so reckless – because it had a great deal of other emotion to conceal. Harry couldn't even let his mind go to what that might mean right now.

The pathway was passable, but just barely in some places. He knew Ron and Hermione had been down here during the early part of the Final Battle, but it looked as if later explosions had blocked the way again. Rocks were pushed haphazardly out of the way, and with a rush of pain, Harry realized that Ginny must have had to clear her way by hand the best she could.

And then, around a corner, he came to a pile of rocks halfway across the path, and a familiar looking robe peeking out from underneath.

Harry didn't trust himself to keep his wand steady; he grabbed at the pile with his hands, pushing and lifting and throwing the rocks to the side until he realized – finally – that Ginny was not trapped beneath. When he braced his hand on the wall to stand up, his print came away bloody.

A faint greenish light ahead told him he was getting close. He stopped to disillusion himself, confident that the Elder Wand would provide more than enough cover. The floor smoothed out and Harry crept on silent feet past the pillars that led him forward until the Chamber itself opened up before him.

As before, the ceiling rose away out of sight and stone statues of serpents surrounded the strange and towering stone figure of Salazar Slytherin. And as before, between the stone feet of the statue, was Ginny.

Harry's first thought was of relief; she looked exhausted, but Ginny was sitting up under what appeared to be her own power, staring at something off to right. Her arms were wrapped around her knees and an enormous snake slithered a tight circle around her. The skeleton of the basilisk Harry had killed spread across the floor. Ginny was near its tail and with a start, Harry realized that Draco and Lucius Malfoy were standing together near the giant skeletal head. A tarnished silver box floated between them and Harry knew at once that this was where they intended to trap Ginny's magic. Indeed, even as Harry watched, the space between the Malfoys and Ginny glowed with the same murky orange that Bill had captured on his wand up in the bathroom.

Harry grasped the Elder Wand and sent a non-verbal spell into the space. The Malfoys had set up wards, but they were weak, designed only to alert them if someone got close to either Ginny or the space where they were working. They obviously intended for him to try to get to her.

Barely daring to breathe, Harry crept forward until he stood half behind a pillar and the curved bones that had made up the Basilisk's middle. The Malfoys were talking in oddly magnified voices; obviously they wanted Ginny to hear them.

"Not much longer now until your magic is completely untethered," Draco said. He might have been telling Ginny the weather forecast, so casual was his voice.

"I hope not," said Lucius. He sounded somewhat less sanguine than his son. "It's taken a lot longer than expected already." He peered into the silver box. "Are you sure it's supposed to be . . . moving . . . like that?"

"It's _fine_ , Father," said Draco with a touch of annoyance. "I told you, she's a powerful witch. Well," he said with a chuckle, "at least she was a powerful witch." His eyes shone with malice. "Now she's hardly better than a Squib." He looked down into the box himself and gave a little frown. "I'm sure it will stop pulsing soon," he said. "Once it's completely contained and we can start the next part of the ritual." He looked over to Ginny.

"By then, I expect Harry will be down here. He must have gotten your Patronus by now. What must he be thinking, that he has to rescue you, again, from the Chamber?" He shook his head. "I had forgotten that. The Chamber is where Harry just barely managed to stop the Dark Lord all those years ago, isn't it? How perfect that it is here that we are going to be able to capture Lord Voldemort's power again!"

"Voldemort is dead, Harry killed him. And you . . . you are crazy. Harry's never been here before." Ginny's voice was quiet but it carried clearly across the space. She shook her head suddenly, as if she was trying to get water out of her ear. "He was . . . he was here, I mean. She looked around, and then pointed back at the tunnel. "He took me out that way. He and Fawkes." She rubbed her eyes. "I think."

Harry saw Ginny's wand lying uselessly by her side. He considered for a second just dashing in and grabbing her; he was confident that he would be able to Stun both Malfoys first. But the silver box holding Ginny's magic – and the snake – stopped him. He couldn't leave without that box and he wasn't sure what the snake might do if he attacked its masters.

Malfoy was talking again. "No one to save him this time," he said. "You see, you and Harry both have something we need. A bit of the Dark Lord's soul, deep inside. You didn't think it was all gone, did you?" He gestured towards the snake. "And more there too." He smiled. "How naïve of everyone, to assume that Lord Voldemort's power could be erased so easily." He shrugged. "His body may be gone but his power is not, and with this ritual, we intend to reclaim it."

"Harry is too strong, he won't be captured like I was," said Ginny. "He'll know better than to come down here." She picked her wand up off the ground. "I'll send him a Patronus. I'll tell him not to come. This is all my fault, my fault. I have to make it right for him." She squeezed her eyes shut and held out her wand. "Expecto Patronum," she whispered.

Draco laughed when nothing happened. "Oh, it's much too late for a Patronus, Ginny," he said. "Harry will be here soon and he won't know what to do first, rescue you, fight the snake, fight me and my father, save your magic? Oh, it will be too much, we are quite sure. And once the ritual is begun, untethering his own magic will be much easier. When it's gone, all that will be left inside of each of you will be the signature from when Voldemort was there. We will capture it and contain it for the final part of the ritual. Not that you will be aware of anything, by then."

Ginny moaned. "Please, I'll do anything. Please . . . don't hurt Harry. He . . . this is my fault. I . . . I didn't try hard enough. To help him. And I didn't feel . . . I didn't try hard enough to feel . . . I wanted . . ." she shook her head. "I want him here," she said, so quietly that Harry thought he misunderstood. "But I don't deserve him."

 _You do deserve me; we deserve each other_ , Harry wanted to scream. He waited instead for Draco's sharp retort, but he and his father had all their attention on the silver box. It was shaking lightly now and Lucius seemed to be having trouble pulling more of the orange vapor from around Ginny to him. "Say the incantation again, Draco," he commanded. "It's stuck. The rest of her magic is stuck."

Draco frowned. "It can't be. All that should be left is . . ." He waved his wand and muttered some words. The box shook harder and the orange took on a muddier glow. He looked towards Ginny and made a tugging motion with his wand, almost as if he was trying to pull something from her. The effort caused him to stumble back several feet and the silver box teetered wildly.

"Watch out!" said Lucius. He and Draco both grabbed the box and struggled to steady it.

Harry took advantage of their distraction. He pulled off his disillusionment charm and stepped into the Chamber, striding purposely towards Ginny until he heard the wards fire.

"You're so predictable, Potter, come to try to save your girlfriend?" Draco's words were right, but the tone was off. He was still watching the silver box and the way orange and black smoke was swirling around it.

Harry took a step closer. "I'd stop there, if I were you." Like his son, Lucius sounded conflicted. "The snake hatched from Nagini. It carries a bit of Voldemort's soul inside. And as soon as we have the last bit of Ginny's magic, it has orders to strike her down."

Harry ignored them. His wand was out, but he watched Ginny. She stared at him, eyes wide. "Harry . . . " she began. She shook her head. "You . . . you didn't need to come. Again? Did you come again?" She shot a scared look at the Malfoys. "They want to hurt you," she said. "You need to leave."

"I'm not leaving without you, Ginny," said Harry. He watched the Mafoys, trying to figure out a spell that would take them out of commission and bring the silver box to Harry – intact – at the same time.

"Finish getting out her magic, Draco." Lucius' voice was harsh. "You said it would be easier than this."

"Just start the ritual, Father. Don't worry about me. Now that Harry's here it will all come together." He shot a stunning spell in Harry's direction.

"Watch out, Harry!" Ginny cried a moment too late, but Harry dodged the spell easily.

The silver box was shaking harder now. Ginny was staring at it. Slowly, she picked up her wand and pointed it at the Malfoys. With the orange vapor between them, it almost looked as though they were playing tug of war.

"Get out of here, Harry, save yourself," she said. She was struggling to her feet, looking both terrified and determined. The snake tightened its circle around her. "I . . . I need you," she said suddenly, looking over at him. She reached out her hand.

Harry wanted nothing more than to go to her, but he forced himself to keep watching the Malfoys. "Soon, Ginny, very soon," he promised.

Draco and Lucius were both waving their wands at the silver box. Harry could hear them saying two different spells; Draco seemed to be continuing his efforts to untether the last of Ginny's magic. He did not want to know what Lucius was doing, but it was causing the muddy orange in the air to turn blacker much more quickly.

"I don't know what I feel!" Ginny screamed suddenly at them. She jerked her wand back and the black vapor became thicker and began to spin., as if a wind had picked up and was tossing the spells around the room. Harry took a step closer to her. He could almost have reached out his arm and touched her, but the snake was in the way. He looked across the Chamber, trying to figure out what was happening.

Lucius and Draco were completely focused on the ritual and were speaking rapidly to each other, their voices sounding closer to panic. Harry looked at Ginny. She was standing upright now, and when her eye caught his she made a motion as if to push him away.

"Get out of here, Harry! This is my fault! I can't . . . I have to help you. I can't do it. . . . but I want . . ." her voice broke and she waved her wand as if casting a spell. Nothing happened in front of her but the black across the room got thicker and moved wildly.

Ginny's babbling words gave Harry an idea. He looked at her.

"I need you to help me, Ginny. You promised to help me." He made his voice pleading. "Please."

Ginny gave him a confused look. "Of course. Of course I'll help you. Whatever you need." She took a step forward and the snake hissed, freezing her in place.

"But Ginny, you have to know, I . . . can't hide the way I feel for you. I've tried, but I can't." Harry didn't have to fake his emotion this time. He willed her to listen to him.

Ginny shook her head. "Harry, I . . . " she began. She stared at the Malfoys. "I have to help you. Now. I need to . . . do something." She cocked her head. "What do you feel?"

Before Harry could answer, the blackness around Draco and Lucius rose up and spread out. It began to cover their bodies and they seemed powerless to get away.

"Stop! Stop the spell! Father. . . it's not . . . it's not right. I said stop it!" Draco was screaming at his father. The blackness was rising around them; Harry could see them flailing against it and could hear both Draco and his father coughing.

"I . . . I love you, Ginny. I do. I have for a long time," Harry called to her, forcing his voice above the roaring of the spell surrounding the Malfoys. "But you need to help me beat them, however you can. You . . .you promised!"

Ginny had both of her hands over her ears. "I promised, I promised," she chanted. She stared at Harry. "But you said . . . how can you feel that?" Her voice was rising again.

A horrible scream tore through the air. Something thick and black and pulsing had fallen over the Malfoys like a heavy blanket. Harry could just see the silver box of Ginny's magic, teetering dangerously as if it was a boat tossed on the sea.

"Stay there!" he yelled at Ginny. He pulled the strongest shield he could around himself and dove into the blackness.

HPHPHPHPHP

Ginny stared at the black cloud across the Chamber. She could just barely make out the figures inside and she watched, terrified, as their movements slowed down and at least one seemed to drop to the ground.

A roaring rush of wind and heat knocked her backwards. Ginny tripped over the snake and fell to the ground just as she saw Harry roll out of the blackness and come to rest against a stone pillar. He lay very still, eyes closed. The cloud rotated and whirled for another minute and then settled down, melting into the stone floor. Two dark lumps of what looked like obsidian were all that remained of where Draco and his father had been.

The snake lifted its head and looked over to where the cloud had been before uncoiling itself from the circle it had formed and beginning to slither away towards one of the darker corners of the Chamber. Without hesitation, Ginny struggled to her feet to follow it. _It's a Horcrux, I have to destroy it._

But she faltered after three steps, her strength and her will giving out. _I must be mental to try to follow that snake._ She swayed on her feet. There had been nothing to eat and no sleep for more than twenty-four hours, and Ginny wanted only to curl up where she was and forget.

A groan across the room pulled her thoughts that way.

 _Harry._

Ginny stumbled over to him and collapsed to her knees. He was curled on his side, wrapped around something clutched against his stomach and was breathing erratically.

She reached out and hesitantly touched his shoulder. He twitched and groaned again, and then slowly opened his eyes. "Ginny?" he asked hoarsely.

Ginny nodded. "It's me," she said. "What happened?"

Harry shook his head slightly and closed his eyes again. "Where are the Malfoys?"

Ginny looked over to the black stone. "I think they're dead."

Harry nodded. "That curse . . . it was . . ." He breathed heavily. "My shield almost didn't hold it back." He opened his eyes again. "Are you okay?"

Ginny had no idea how to answer. "I don't think so," she finally said. She looked down at him. "Why are you here? I . . . I don't think I have any magic anymore. I don't know how to help you."

"You've already helped me so much this year, Ginny. You don't need to help right now." Harry spoke quietly and Ginny had to strain to hear him. "Give me a couple of minutes and I'll be able to send a Patronus for help."

Ginny shook her head. "I tried to send a Patronus, but I couldn't." She looked at the wand in her hand. "My wand doesn't work."

"It's okay, we'll fix it," mumbled Harry. He shifted and held up the object he was holding. "See? I saved your magic. As soon as we're back, I'm sure the healers at St. Mungo's can put it back for you."

Ginny didn't quite understand what Harry meant but she nodded. She looked around, suddenly realizing where they were. "We're in the Chamber?"

Harry opened his eyes and looked at her. "Yes, the Chamber," he said. "What do you remember?" He shook his head. "No, you don't have to tell me. Just, just relax and I'll be okay soon."

Ginny shook her head. Confusing images kept assaulting her. Some she could see in her mind, like the way she had stood on the path in Hogsmeade and faced a swarm of Dementors or when she was in the Room of Requirement with Harry and Ron and Hermione, grabbing the tiara Horcrux to destroy. But there were warmer feelings too, ones she couldn't identify, but that she wanted to.

"I'm too damaged for you to love," she said abruptly. She had no idea where the thought had come from, but she knew it was right.

Harry looked at her and she thought his face was a little sad. He struggled into a sitting position. "We're going to get this fixed, Ginny." He leaned back against a stone pillar. "Just . . . give me another minute."

Ginny's thoughts jumped again. "The snake!" she said suddenly. She looked back where she had been sitting but the serpent was gone. "We have to find it; it's got the rest of Nagini's Horcrux inside."

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't," he said slowly. "I don't know if the Malfoys really thought that or if they were making it up because they thought it would get us both down here more easily, but Nagini never laid any eggs. I'm sure of it."

"How do you know? You never said anything to me."

Harry looked pained. "For the same reason I don't talk to Ron about spiders," he said. "Hermione worried about Nagini ages ago and of course, she did some research. Nagini was a maledictus – she was once a human woman who had been cursed. A blood curse that made her infertile, both as a human and a snake." He looked at her. "You were really calm, having that snake slithering around you for so long."

Ginny shrugged. "Okay," she said. She closed her eyes. "I'm really tired."

"Not yet, don't sleep," said Harry harshly. He grabbed her arm. "Let me just call for help. I think I can now." He lifted his wand and Ginny saw his Patronus canter away.

"I can't send a Patronus anymore," she said. "I tried. I even . . . I even thought of you, like I used to. I thought it was going to work. But it didn't."

Harry looked like he wanted to say something to her, she thought. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Instead, he put his hand on her arm. "I think we need to wait for help," he said quietly.

A/N 2: I realize that this is the second time in recent months that I've killed the Malfoys in a particularly harsh way. I don't even hate them as characters; I actually have always had some sympathy for Draco (maybe not Lucius though). But as the only surviving DEs in canon, they are convenient to use. I promise it won't happen again. :)

At the same time, I just couldn't resist the bit of strong, tough Bill. What can I say?


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Thank you for the notes and PM's I got about that flame review. I did some digging, and I can laugh about it now. People need to find better uses for their time!

Everything was purple; the walls, the air, his skin. It seemed to be moving all around him as if the world had taken a dip in a bowl of jam. Harry rubbed at his eyes. When he opened them again, the space had resolved into a proper hospital room, the purple shimmer of wards he'd never seen before glowing about the edges.

"Oh good, you're awake. That didn't take long." A strange face peered over him. Harry struggled to sit up.

"Where's Ginny?" he asked hoarsely. It felt as if he'd been run over by a herd of Hippogriffs.

"She's here, in the next bed." Bill's voice had an odd timbre to it.

"Is she . . .?" Ginny appeared asleep. She was pale, but physically looked otherwise the same as always.

"Physically, she seems to be fine. As for the other . . . we don't exactly know," said Bill. "The curses - or it looks like one was a ritual - acted . . . oddly, even for Dark Magic. She was extremely confused when we got to the Chamber, and you were nearly unconscious."

Harry nodded. "I don't really remember much after I sent you my Patronus," he said.

"That's not surprising, considering what you were holding," said Bill. "And still have with you." He gestured at Harry's lap. "Every time we tried to get it away, Ginny got more . . . unstable." He looked concerned. "So we had to ward it as best we could until you woke up. There is a lot we still don't understand about what happened."

Harry looked down at the silver box. It was no longer shaking or emitting orange vapor or black smoke, but he sensed it wasn't empty either.

"It's where the Malfoys trapped her magic," Harry said. He held it up. "Can you, you know, put it back in her now?"

Bill grimaced. "I don't think it's going to be that easy," he said. He looked at the healer who had been checking Harry, now congregated with two others around Ginny's bed. "They are pretty sure that the charm that Flitwick put on her is broken," he said. "It came apart with her magic." He sighed. "But its after-effects still linger and we need to figure out how." He rubbed his hand through his hair. "That charm was both good, and bad for her."

"Good? How was anything about it good?" asked Harry.

"Because the charm interfered with the attempt to untether Miss Weasley's magic." One of the healers walked over and began waving her wand around Harry's middle. "It grew so much in strength, over time, and became so connected to her magic that it changed it. Oh, not dangerously," she added, seeing Harry's face. "But it caused her to use it in ways she would not have, otherwise. And that caused an undercurrent of instability that was magnified when the untethering curse was added."

"But they were able to untether her magic anyway, weren't they? She had no power left by the time I got to her in the Chamber."

"Well yes, it was untethered," agreed the healer. "But it took them a lot longer than it would have otherwise, and we don't think they were actually able to disconnect it from her cleanly. What the Malfoys got out of her was not her pure magic; they got part of the charm too, and that mixture caused the second ritual they attempted fail. Rather spectacularly, I understand?" At Harry's nod, the healer continued. "And the charm was quite tightly bound to Miss Weasley's strong feelings for you - it's how it got its strength." She patted Harry's leg. Those feelings quite literally saved her life."

Harry was grateful that both the healer and Bill turned away until he had composed himself again.

"So . . . so what can you do with this?" he finally asked, holding up the box again. He couldn't help his feeling that the answer to getting Ginny better lay inside it. "It's got her magic in it, right? Can you just . . . remove the bits of the charm and then put the rest back in her?"

"Restoring magic is tricky even in the best of situations," said the healer. "It's an organic part of any witch or wizard, something that grows naturally inside. There are magical ways to encourage proper growth when the magic has been damaged, and we are exploring the best way to help Miss Weasley now."

"They can use the magic you brought back, to an extent," explained Bill. "But . . ." he stopped when the wards around the room suddenly dropped, revealing most of the Weasley family.

"They were here, earlier," he said quietly to Harry. "But they wanted to come back when you woke up."

Indeed, Molly swooped down on him almost immediately. She took his face in her hands and kissed the top of his head, unable to speak. Arthur put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Ron told us what you did," he said. "I'm only sorry the rest of us didn't notice that Ginny's behavior was off."

Harry mumbled "it's not your fault," and then tried not to look at Ginny's family. "I . . . I should have figured out something sooner," he said to the blankets on the bed. She acted the most different around me. I should have realized."

"But you **did** realize, Harry." Ron's voice was earnest. A second later Harry felt a hand on his other shoulder. "You, me and Hermione knew something was going on with her. And we talked to her and tried to figure out what was wrong. But we didn't know the right questions to ask, so we came to the wrong conclusions."

"Not to mention, you were running for your lives in the middle of a war, were you not?" Percy's pompous rationality was actually a comfort.

"And the charm itself caused her behavior to be inconsistent?" asked Bill. "That's what the healers need to know, Harry. What you noticed about Ginny's behavior at different times, what seemed to trigger her . . . unpredictability?"

"Her impulsiveness," added Hermione

"She was mental," said Ron flatly. "She didn't fancy Harry at all."

"Ron!" Harry buried his head in his hands, waiting for the inevitable laughter. The silence was odd, and Harry cautiously raised his head. The compassion on everyone's faces was even worse somehow. He looked at the twins, silently willing them to make a teasing comment. But Fred grimaced and George was looking at his nails.

Harry leaned back against the pillows.

"That . . that's not the important thing," he said finally. "If she doesn't . . . if she _never_ feels that way about me, it won't matter." He forced himself to speak firmly. "What matters is getting back her magic, the way it used to be."

"That's just it, the two are tied together," said Bill. He had been conferring with the healers and an older curse breaker Harry thought was named Miriam. He walked back over to the side of Harry's bed and looked at him seriously.

"We need to ask you some questions, Harry." Bill glanced over at the other bed where Ginny still appeared to be asleep. "They will keep Ginny . . . unaware, for now."

"Anything," said Harry quietly. "I'll tell you anything that might help her."

"Damn Flitwick," he heard someone mutter. It might have been Charlie.

"Blaming Professor Flitwick for a mistake he made years ago will not help Ginny." Mr. Weasley included the entire room in his comments. "He already feels terrible for his role in this, and has been working with the healers and curse breakers however he can."

"And we all know how persuasive Ginny can be when she wants something," added Fred. "Even at twelve, you had to watch out for her."

Harry was restless with wanting to get started. "What do you need to know?" he asked Bill.

Bill looked at his family and then at Harry. "Do you want them to leave?" he asked. "Some of the questions are going to be rather personal."

Harry privately would have rather had this conversation with a healer and any curse breaker besides Ginny's oldest brother, but he knew Bill was one of the best, and anyway, he didn't think it was fair to make Ginny's family leave their daughter's bedside. He waved his hand. "It's okay," he said.

Bill nodded. He and Miriam and one of the healers conjured chairs around Harry's bed, which seemed to be signal the rest of the Weasleys needed to get comfortable too. Most of them showed the restraint befitting the location and circumstance – Percy sat himself in what looked like a desk chair and Molly and Arthur had a simple bench. But Fred and George settled themselves into large matching thrones adorned in Gryffindor colors. Mr. Weasley sighed. "Is that really necessary, boys?" he asked with the air of someone who already knew the answer.

"Most certainly," responded Fred.

"At least it's not a toilet," added George.

"Enough," said Bill, and Harry was grateful. He looked at Bill and Miriam.

"So, Ginny and the charm," he said. "I think I understand what happened, at least, what Flitwick told us."

Bill nodded. "We understand the link between what the charm was trying to hide and what kind of behaviors it created instead," he said. "But there are . . . connections it created, between you and her, that we haven't quite defined yet. We have some questions about how strong her reactions were, and how that influenced the way she used her magic to fulfill the . . . impulses the charm caused." He gave Harry an apologetic smile. "When did you first tell Ginny you fancied her, do you remember? And do you know what prompted your . . . feelings?"

Harry flushed. The dream he'd had about Ginny and her Quidditch pajamas that had started everything was private. _But if it will help heal her . . ._ He decided to start further back. Maybe it wouldn't make him seem like such a randy git that way.

"You know Ginny and I have been really good friends for a long time, right? She's been one of my best friends since, umm . . ."

"Since close to the start of your third year," said Miriam. She was a no-nonsense witch and Harry felt comfortable with her immediately. "Flitwick thinks he put the charm on Ginny sometime that fall."

Harry nodded. "She was having nightmares about snakes," he said. "From the Dementors. I taught her how to cast a Patronus so they wouldn't affect her as much." He frowned. "I think she still had nightmares though."

"But she never told you that the nightmares included you almost dying in the Chamber, did she?" asked Bill seriously. "They were about snakes, but not about you?"

Harry sat up, trying to remember. "I don't think so," he said. "It was mostly about snakes. The Dementors around the school that year made the nightmares worse for her." He thought for a second. "And then, after the Quidditch World Cup, she asked me if I thought a Patronus would help her with her fears of snakes in general, not just because of the Dementors."

He leaned back against the pillows again. "Fourth year was when we became really good friends," he said. "Because . . ."

"Because I acted like a jealous arse," interrupted Ron.

Harry grinned at him. "Only for a little while. You got your wits back after I almost got incinerated by that dragon." He thought for a second. "But Ginny was really supportive of me, that year. And she started writing Sirius too."

Bill nodded in understanding. "She wanted to help you, more than normal, right? But you didn't have any stronger feelings than friendship?"

Harry shook his head. "Not then, no." While he had been talking something had occurred to him. He looked at Bill and Miriam "But are you saying that Ginny only became friends with me because the charm . . . forced her to?"

"Absolutely not," said Miriam firmly. She seemed to understand exactly what Harry was asking. "It merely . . . accelerated and magnified what would have eventually happened on its own."

Harry swallowed. "Okay," he said quietly. "If you say so."

Miriam sat down on the bed and put her hand on Harry's knee. "I know so," she told him. "I wouldn't be the best curse breaker at Gringott's if I didn't."

"Hey now," said Bill amiably. He also looked at Harry. "You and Ginny became friends because you were meant to. I'm sure of it." He smirked. "And let me be clear, I am actually the best curse breaker at Gringotts."

Everyone chuckled, and Harry felt the small knot of tension that had been forming in his chest loosen a bit. "Thank you," he said to Bill and Miriam.

"Her support for you got stronger, didn't it?" Bill turned back to the thread of conversation. "But you both had other . . . relationships too?"

Harry nodded. "She encouraged me to date Cho; we went out for over a year. And she dated my friend Dean Thomas."

"La la la la, we don't want to hear about that!" Fred and George had conjured enormous earmuffs and were talking in a sing-song voice.

"Boys," said Mr. Weasley. "Let Harry talk."

"As long as we don't have to hear about our sister snogging some bloke," said George.

Harry squirmed uncomfortably, thinking about what was to come. He took a deep breath. "Ginny and I became even better friends my fifth and sixth years," he said. "She helped a lot with the DA and with Quidditch." There was a long beat of silence. "And . . . . with Sirius," he finally said. "She felt really guilty – we both did." He ruffled his hair. "It didn't affect our friendship though. My sixth year, I mean. And then she felt really strongly about being able help us – me, Ron, and Hermione, while we were on the Horcrux hunt."

Miriam looked at Bill. "This is fascinating," she said. "The charm's predictive properties over time could have important implications." She directed her next comment to Harry. "You had broken up with your girlfriend by then, right? Is that when you started to have feelings for Ginny?"

Harry swallowed. It was time. "Umm, not right away," he said. "I uhh, at first, I just wanted her to be able to help us search for Horcruxes from Hogwarts." He looked pleadingly at Molly and Arthur. "I'm so sorry, I should never have put her in danger like that. I don't know what I was thinking."

"Harry . . ." began Molly. "We know that you would never . . ."

"Yeah mate, I'm the one who's chosen to almost get killed with you every year, right?" Harry appreciated Ron's attempt at levity, but he wanted to make sure he was clear.

"Yes, but," he said.

"But the charm was now working on you too!" Bill's voice was triumphant. He looked at Miriam. "I'd say it was around then that the charm created a confluence, do you agree?"

Miriam nodded. "Definitely. The transfer and expansion was nearly seamless. What happened next, Harry?"

Harry didn't understand everything Bill and Miriam were saying, but he supposed it didn't really matter. He picked up the thread of conversation.

"We, uhh, we saw her in Hogsmeade. And then I started watching her dot at night. On the Marauder's Map." He looked at the assembled room. "Malfoy was bothering her, that entire year."

"I should have gotten her out of that school earlier," said Arthur with a sound of disgust.

"Hey, leave the 'guilt thing' to me, okay?" Harry looked at Ginny's father with a small smile.

"We all made mistakes last year," said Percy firmly. He looked around at his family. "And we don't need to speak about them anymore, right? Right?" Everyone nodded solemnly and Percy gestured grandly to Harry. "Please continue."

Bill chuckled. "Thank you, Perce," he said. He nodded at Harry. "I suspect we are getting close to the time your feelings for my sister changed?"

Harry didn't miss the implication in Bill's words. He nodded back.

"Right. Well, after that, we saw her at the Burrow and then . . ." he stopped talking. It wasn't really necessary to mention Ron's defection, he decided. He gave Ron a look that told him to keep quiet. "And then we went to Godric's Hollow and I almost got killed by Nagini. And then, umm, yeah. My feelings changed." He swallowed. "One night," he said quietly, hoping everyone understood. He did not dare to look at the twins.

"Only physically at first, Harry?" Miriam's voice was gentle.

Harry kept his eyes trained firmly on his hands, sitting in his lap. He nodded. "At first, yes," he said. "But I knew, pretty quickly, that it was more than that." He dared look at the assembled Weasleys. "It was different with Ginny, almost from the start," he said. He tried to keep the pleading for understanding out of his voice.

"We know that, Harry." Help came from the most unexpected place. George was looking at him seriously, not even a hint of a smirk in his expression. "Oh, don't worry, I'm sure there will be plenty of reasons to take the mickey out of you soon enough. Just not right now." He looked at his twin. "Right, Gred?"

Fred nodded. "Right, Forge. We need to get Ginny better first."

Harry didn't really have the words. "That means . . . a lot," he said finally. "You don't even know." He took a deep breath.

"Things started to change when we got to Shell Cottage," he said. "Not at first, but pretty quickly. I knew that I . . . I guess at first you could say I fancied her. That's not exactly the right word, but I guess it's the closest. And then she came to see us."

Bill picked up the thread of conversation. "She was so insistent that she had to talk to you three. She wouldn't tell me why, though."

"She had found the tiara Horcrux at Hogwarts," said Hermione. "It was a huge achievement."

"One aided, no doubt, by the charm," said Bill. "It compelled her to need to help you, Harry. And the danger meant less and less."

Harry closed his eyes. As embarrassing as it had been to admit to Ginny's family that he had physical feelings for her, it was almost worst for them to know how those feelings had caused her to put herself in so much danger."

"But I hadn't even told her how I felt about her, when she went searching for the Horcrux," he said. "I didn't tell her until she got to Shell Cottage."

Bill shrugged. "She already knew, on some level," he said. "And you did too. That's why you told her about the Horcruxes in the first place; you couldn't help asking her to search for them." The man glanced at his parents. "I think it would be best if only a few of us talked to Harry from now on," he said. "You got to see Ginny awake earlier, and you can come back soon. But right now, everyone but Ron and Hermione should leave."

To Harry's great relief, no one protested. Everyone clapped him on the shoulder as they left; Molly gave him a kiss on the cheek. And then the room was blessedly empty but for the two curse-breakers, several healers still standing at Ginny's bed, and Ron and Hermione.

"Thanks, Bill," he said.

"The twins showed remarkable restraint," he said. "But they don't need any more ammunition for the future." He sat down in one of the abandoned chairs and then banished the thrones. "What happened when you told her how you felt about her?"

Reliving those moments was painful, but Harry did his best. "She said she had never felt that way about me," he said. "That we were too close as friends for her feelings to ever be more than that – we knew each other too well."

Ron snorted. "I've been telling you from the start that didn't make any sense," he said. He looked at Hermione. "And was I right?"

Hermione gave him an indulgent smile. "You were," she agreed, squeezing his arm.

"She was sorry, she felt sorry for me, at first." Now that he'd started talking, Harry wanted to get this part over as quickly as possible. "She thought my feelings were . . . unrealistic."

Bill and Miriam exchanged a look. "And what did she say about your friendship?" Miriam asked.

"She didn't want this to interfere. She wanted to keep helping me. And she did, of course."

"Of course," muttered Bill. He seemed to be thinking. "And were you able to . . . keep your feelings hidden? From Ginny, I mean."

Harry shook his head. "Not as well as I should have," he said. "I tried, but it was like, every time I was around her, I just felt this . . . energy. This need to be there, with her." He sighed. "And she could tell. It made her more and more cross."

"And more and more determined to take reckless risks, right?" Miriam looked at Harry. "In these past months since the War ended," she began. "How would you describe how your feelings for Ginny have been?" she asked. "Did they change? Grow? Go away?"

Harry looked at the curse breaker. _How did she know?_ He took a deep breath. "They definitely did not go away," he said. "They got stronger. Much stronger." He took a deep breath. "I think . . . I mean, I'm pretty sure. That I love her."

"Oh, Harry." Hermione's words of distress were of no comfort. He kept looking at his hands.

"Did I ruin things? By pushing her? Or by not figuring out all this sooner? She couldn't cast her Patronus back in Hogsmeade, way before the Malfoys started taking her magic. So when she couldn't do it this year, I didn't realize . . ."

"Ginny's Patronus is tied to her feelings for you," said Miriam. "If I'm not mistaken, she was able to cast one as long as she thought of you, and her feelings for you were not muddled. Once the charm was working against those feelings, I imagine it affected her ability to cast her Patronus. You would have had no way of knowing that."

"And there is absolutely nothing you could have done to change how you behaved around Ginny or how she was around you," added Bill. "Your actions and feelings were honest; they fed off of what Ginny _should_ have been feeling, but for the charm." He shook his head. "If this didn't involve my sister and you, I'd be extremely interested in the underlying magic the spell created. Now I just want to get it put to rights."

"And how do we do that?" asked Harry. He realized the silver box was still sitting next to him on the bed. "You said it wasn't as easy as opening the box and putting back her magic."

"We aren't really sure what is going to work," Bill admitted. He gestured to one of the healers. "Will you tell Harry what you told me?"

A senior-looking healer came over. "We believe the broken charm is still influencing her behavior." At Harry's startled look, he hastened to explain. "She's not under the influence of the charm itself; the masking of her feelings for you and avoidance of the Chamber are gone, don't worry about that."

"Okay, that's good," said Harry. "But, what's left in their place?" He didn't want to admit it, but he wondered secretly if destruction of the charm would immediately cause Ginny to reciprocate his feelings for her. On the one hand, Harry really wanted Ginny to feel about him the way he felt about her. But if he was totally honest with himself, he knew it would feel unnatural if she were to suddenly wake up and . . . what, say she loved him? He shook his head.

The healer seemed to understand. "Anything masked by the charm should not simply reappear," he assured Harry. "But, the things she lost when the charm broke, and the things she lost when her magic was untethered are closely tied to each other. Regaining one requires regaining the other, and vice versa."

"How does one regain lost magic?" asked Harry.

Another healer joined them. "Well, we start by waking up Miss Weasley and then opening the box containing the remnants of the charm and her magic. After that, we aren't quite sure."

"But it's pretty clear that you are going to have to be part of Ginny's recovery, Harry." Miriam picked up the silver box and said a spell to suspend it in the air between Harry's and Ginny's beds. "Both the charm and the loss of her magic are closely tied to you. The healers will explain what you need to do once we understand what the box contains." She nodded at one of the healers, who began to wave their wand over Ginny.

"Wait, you're waking her up now?" Harry looked over at Ginny's bed to where she was already stirring. "I don't know . . . what do I say to her?"

Miriam patted his arm. "Let her do the talking first," she suggested. "And . . . be reassuring. You know her so well, I'm sure you will figure it out. And Bill and I and the healers will be here to help."

"And so will Hermione and I," said Ron. "And I promise not to call her mental."

Harry took a deep breath. "Okay then," he said. "I'm ready."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: This is a shorter, transition chapter. I recognize that there is not a lot of plot here, but I think the set up is important. There isn't going to be a lot of physical action for the next chapter or two; Ginny (and Harry) have to get through quite a bit of emotional and magical healing first. I'm planning to go back to Ginny's POV in the next chapter; I think we need to hear what she's thinking.

Harry thought he should give Ginny some privacy to wake up on her own, but his eyes kept darting back to her bed. Just as quickly, he'd look away, usually finding Ron and Hermione instead. They looked at apprehensive as he felt.

It did not take that long. Harry forced himself not to look directly, but he was acutely aware of the movement across the room as Ginny slowly sat up.

"Good afternoon, Miss Weasley. I trust you had a good rest? As I assured you, you were not asleep for too long; no more than several hours."

"I feel better, thank you." Ginny answer to the healer was quiet. "Is Harry o. . . Harry!"

He had to look then. Ginny was staring at him, and Harry would have described most of her expression as relieved. He wasn't sure what else he saw in her eyes, and it was with more than a little nervousness that he spoke.

"Hi, Ginny." He bit back his next sentence, _I'm glad to see you awake,_ worried that she might think he was being more than merely friendly. "Umm, how are you feeling?"

She made a dismissive gesture. "How are **you** feeling?"

In truth, Harry felt like he'd been run over by the Hogwarts Express. His head was pounding and he barely had the strength to lift it off the pillow. But he didn't want Ginny to know how much the experiencer had taxed him. "Me? Oh, umm, I'm just a little tired and sore. I have to take a couple of nasty potions, but the healers said I'll be back to normal very soon."

Harry cringed as soon as the words were out of his mouth. _The last thing Ginny needs is to be reminded that she's not back to normal herself!_

But Ginny didn't seem to be focused on that. She grimaced. "I can't believe we were in the Chamber." Her brow wrinkled. "Again?" She looked at Harry, some of the relief fading. "We were there before with me, weren't you? I had forgotten you wer there, I think. " She sighed quietly. "And you saved me again too. Damn, I'm an idiot." She rubbed her hands over her face. "What was I thinking?"

Harry looked in a panic at Bill. _Does she know about the charm?_ He mouthed quietly, hoping Ginny couldn't hear. Bill shook his head.

"About to get to that," he said. He sat on the end of Ginny's bed. "I know you already told the healers, but I want to be sure. You remember everything that's been happening this past months, including what happened today, right, Ginny? Helping search for the Horcruxes, the final battle, rebuilding the school?"

Ginny nodded. "I told them that I remember everything," she said. "I haven't lost any time. I was trying . . . " She stopped and glanced quickly at Harry, her expression unreadable, and just as quickly turned back to her brother.

Harry noticed Ginny's comment about not having lost any time and wondered what she had planned to say next, but he kept himself quiet.

Bill smiled. "Okay, good. And you remember this school year too? Classes, Quidditch . . . seeing Harry come to lecture?"

Now Ginny frowned, and Harry wanted to warn Bill to keep him out of it, but Miriam was nodding and the healers were listening carefully. Harry swallowed his comment. _They must know what they are doing.  
_

"Yes, I remember everything," she said slowly. "But . . . something was wrong." She looked down, and Harry could see her hands twisting in her lap. "Something was wrong with my magic," she said quietly. Ginny looked around the room but her gaze didn't stop on anyone. "At first, I just thought I was being careless, or the work was harder. I kept trying to . . ." She looked quickly at Harry again and then shook her head. "But it kept getting worse." She looked at Bill. "I couldn't even do the self-reel on my broom when I flew during a storm. I learned that spell when I was ten!"

Ginny's voice rose and Harry had the urge to jump out of bed and comfort her. Fortunately, her brothers beat him to it. Bill put his hand on Ginny's knee and Ron walked over and touched her shoulder.

"It was a curse," he said bluntly. "Malfoy did it to you."

Instead of the surprise and shock Harry had expected, Ginny merely nodded tiredly. "I worked that out," she said, "while I was walking to the Chamber." She put her head in hands. "I'm an idiot," she said for the second time. She looked up at Bill. "I'm pretty sure he did the spell the first time when he gave me a book of dark magic to use." She blushed and looked over at Harry.

"It was the book where I got the spell I sent you," she said. She gave a frustrated huff. "I don't know what I was thinking, send you dark magic. It seemed like a good idea at the time." She looked beseechingly at her brother. "And letting Malfoy help me seemed like a good idea too. Was that part of the curse he put on me? It couldn't have been, right? Because he was nice to me way before that." She rubbed at her eyes. "I can't understand why I thought that was okay."

"There was a reason," said Bill quietly. "But it didn't have anything to with Malfoy."

The mood in the room shifted. Ron walked back from Ginny's bed to sit next to Hermione. The healers and Miriam all took steps closer. Ginny straightened up from her position leaning against the pillows on her bed. She glanced at Harry again.

"Just tell me," she said.

Carefully, Bill explained about the charm. "It . . . extinguished the crush you had had on Harry," he said. "And it made people unable to discuss the fact that Harry . . . went down into the Chamber when they were around you."

Harry noticed that Bill had not used the word 'rescued' to describe what had happened. Ginny was nodding; she seemed to understand what her brother was saying.

"Harry and I were still friends though, the charm didn't change that, right?" She gave Harry a longer look.

"Great friends," he said forcefully, leaning towards her from his bed. "One of my best."

Ginny looked a little started at Harry's vehemence, and he hastily lay back. "Umm, yeah," he said.

Bill didn't mention how the charm had changed, and changed the way Ginny acted over time, Harry noticed. He didn't say anything though. Bill must have had his reasons for keeping that part out for now.

"You won't remember asking Professor Flitwick to do it," Bill said as he finished his explanation. "It was an innocent request," Bill assured her. "Too bad Flitwick didn't know more about young girls and their development." He looked at his sister. "Okay, Ginny?"

"I don't remember the charm," said softly. "But I remember how I felt . . . before." She looked at Harry. "I thought it was my fault, that we were in the Chamber." Her voice grew even softer. "And that my . . . my crush on you, made it easier for Lucius Malfoy and then Tom to get into my head. I'm not surprised I wanted to get rid of all that." Her voice grew bitter. "For all the good it did though, right? Look where we ended up, again." She looked again at Harry and this time, her gaze stayed on him. "I'm so sorry, Harry.

Harry wasn't sure what to say. Ginny sounded properly sorry. But her affect was a little off and he suspected that everything Bill was telling her hadn't quite sunk in yet. He shrugged. "It's . . . okay," he said finally. "The important thing now is to get your magic back."

Ginny grimaced. "It's really still gone?" She picked up her wand. "Lumos," she said quietly. It was a voice that should have had no trouble making light. Nothing happened. She shook the wand impatiently. "Lumos," she said again, this time in louder voice. Still, the end of the wand remained dark. Looking frustrated, she swished the wand down sharply and yelled the spell. Two small sparks guttered briefly at the end and then flickered out.

With a despondent cry, Ginny threw her wand on the bed in front of her. "What the fuck am I going to do?" She looked at Bill. "You can fix it, right? You're the best curse breaker there is. Fix this, Bill!"

Bill looked at Miriam and then at the silver box on Harry's bed before responding. Ginny followed his gaze and then pointed at it. "What's that?" She asked sharply. "It was in the Chamber, the Malfoys were using it." She looked at Harry. "It has my magic in it, doesn't it?" She held out her hand. "Give it to me, please."

"Ginny, it's not that . . ." began Bill.

"I said, give it to me!" Ginny wasn't quite yelling, but her voice boded no argument.

Miriam stepped up. "We have to do this properly," she said. She motioned one of the healers over. "Yes Ginny, the Malfoys did trap your magic in the box. Most of it is in the box, but . . ."

"Most of it?" asked Ginny? "Where's the rest?" She looked wildly around, as if expecting to see her magic floating over her bed.

"Some of it – not much, but some – is still in you," said the healer. "That's a good thing."

Ginny nodded, as if satisfied with that answer.

"And some of it is completely gone," said Miriam. "But that is not the biggest problem. A wizard or witch's magic is an organic, integral part of them. Some wizards are naturally more powerful than others, but magic, and power, can grow, and be encouraged to grow, too. "It happens a lot during the school years."

"So what's the problem?" asked Ginny. She gestured at the box. "Put back whatever you can and then regrow the rest. I'll do whatever you need me to do, take potions, learn new spells, whatever," she shrugged as if the answer should be easy.

Bill picked up the thread of conversation. "Well, the . . . charm, . . . it complicates things," he said slowly. Harry could hear the reluctance in his voice. "It was on you a long time, much longer than intended. The way it worked, and the way made you act, changed over time. That, plus the very nature of what the charm was meant to do, caused it to bind with your magic. And . . . change it." He gestured to the box. "So we don't know exactly what is in there, and we don't know how the charm's residual signature might affect the restoration of your magic."

It was a lot of information to take in at once; Harry could see in Ginny's face that she was attempting to find a common thread in what Bill was saying, that she was searching for the answer to how everything could just be fixed. Harry could see it in her because he was searching for it too.

"But . . . the charm is gone, right? It's not on me now?" Ginny's eyes were scrunched in concentration. "Because I can remember what Harry did the first time, in the Chamber. And I don't think it's still . . . I mean, the things it masked, before . . . " She gave Harry a sudden, frightened look. "I don't know. I feel . . . but maybe it's . . . I just don't . . . know."

Harry was relieved that Ginny wasn't able to finish any of her thoughts. He didn't want to admit that a tiny part of him had hoped – maybe – that removal of the charm would open the door to the fact that all this time she'd been feeling . . . something for him, something more than the mixture of friendship and annoyance that had characterized the past year. But the bigger part of him just wanted the annoyance gone. If Ginny had suddenly turned to him and professed that she fancied him or something, Harry knew it would have felt unnatural and uncomfortable.

Still, he was not the only one in the room watching her carefully. Ron looked like he was about to say something, and Harry suspected it was going to include the word 'mental.' Fortunately, Hermione seemed to realize it too, and gave Ron a subtle jab in the arm to quiet him.

"The charm is broken, yes," said Miriam. "She looked at Bill and the healers. "I think we need to just open it," Harry heard her say under her breath.

"But you said it changed my magic? How did it change my magic? And why does that matter now that my magic is . . . gone?" Ginny had obviously been absorbing everything said to her.

"Her intelligence is intact," murmured Hermione. "That has to be a good thing."

Harry privately agreed it was good that Ginny's mind appeared as sharp as ever and that she was, so far, reasonably calm about the loss of her magic and the revelation that she had been under the influence of a charm for the past six years. But no one had yet mentioned the hippogriff in the room, and he had a sinking feeling that when Ginny understood the full extent of what had happened, things might not be so sanguine anymore.

Bill and Miriam had finished their quiet conversation with the healers. Now Bill looked pensively at his sister.

"Those are important questions, Ginny. And we know some of the answers, but not everything yet. We could probably discuss and theorize for hours more without coming to any sort of conclusion, but instead, the healers, and Miriam and I think we need to just get the box opened and see what's . . . what's left inside, and how it can help." Harry could hear an uncharacteristic hesitance in Bill's voice.

"But it may not help, that's what you are saying?" Ginny had obviously heard it too.

"We are sure it will help at least somewhat," assured Miriam. She gave Ginny a serious look. "But there are going to be . . . difficulties too." She gestured towards the healers. "Healer Adler will stay here and work with you and Harry on the regrowth of your magic. She's particularly gifted in addressing the emotional requirements of magical regeneration."

"Why does Harry need to be here? He didn't have anything to do with the loss of my magic." Ginny did not sound exactly unwilling to have him stay, but Harry thought that she didn't sound particularly enthusiastic about having him there either.

Bill and Miriam exchanged a look. So did Ron and Hermione.

"What?" said Ginny. She had seen Ron's face. "What about Harry?" She looked at him. "You . . . you dove into the curse to get the box of my magic. Is that why?"

"That's partly it," said Miriam. "As for the rest, it will become more clear, I think, once we have a better idea what we are dealing with. The confluence could have a number of effects."

Harry remembered that Bill had mentioned a confluence earlier. He still had no idea what it meant, but it didn't sound particularly good. He took a deep breath.

"Maybe we should just get started," he said.

Miriam nodded. "I agree." She looked around the room, stopping on Ron and Hermione. "I want you to stay for now, you two have been the closest to the . . . situation for the last year, and I think you may be helpful. But please do not interfere unless we ask you a direct question."

Ron and Hermione nodded. Miriam looked at Harry, and then at Ginny. "Are you both ready?" she asked in a quiet voice. "This is going to be tough."

Ginny glanced at Harry as if she still wasn't sure why his presence was so necessary. But finally she nodded. "I'm ready," she said.

Harry, on the other hand, had a pretty good idea why he had to be involved in Ginny's recovery. It was with more than a little apprehension that he nodded too. "I'm ready," he said.

Miriam, Bill, and the healer raised their wands. Harry saw them set new and different wards around his and Ginny's beds. Bill's spell lifted the box up into the air and floated it just above Ginny's lap. The healer said a quiet incantation and Ginny seemed to relax further into the pillows.

"On my count," said Miriam. "One, two, three."


	18. Chapter 18

Ginny wasn't sure what she was expecting when the silver box opened, but silence would not have made her list of guesses. If pushed, she might have admitted that what she really hoped for was a flash of blinding light, followed by the unmistakable feeling of her magic flowing, well, _magically,_ back into her. Barring that, she wanted to see at least some indication that her magic still existed, even if it was not with her at the moment.

But the lid on the box opened, everyone in the room leaned in a little bit, and . . . nothing happened.

She had been trying to keep her emotions in check these past hours, willing to let the healers and curse breakers use their expertise to fix everything. Faced with the evidence that maybe that expertise was not enough was finally broke her control, and Ginny couldn't hold back a cry.

"It's gone, isn't it? I'm going to be a . . . a . . . Squib." She couldn't even get her head around it. Squibs were something she knew about, in theory, but always as an object of something close to pity. Filch was a Squib, they said, and look at how pathetic his life was. She heaved another sob. "What am I going to do?"

No one answered her; Bill and Miriam and the healer were conferring, their faces tight, and Hermione was whispering rapidly into Ron's ear. Ginny didn't realize that Harry was watching her, or that he was the only one who saw the box give the tiniest shudder, and a small puff of orange smoke begin to rise. Ginny herself didn't even notice; but when Harry's excited voice broke through her despair, things suddenly happened quickly.

"It's there, Ginny's magic!" At Harry's words, Bill whirled around. He stared for less than a second before beginning to chant at the smoke while Miriam conjured a clear glass vial.

"We need a second," said Bill, and at first Ginny thought he meant he needed more time. But Miriam conjured another glass vial to float next to the first, and then, after peering carefully at the box, she created a third.

"The black was there too, in the Chamber." Harry's voice was certain, and Ginny saw that something thick and black had joined the orange. Bill seemed to be trying to separate the two colors and wrestle them into separate vials.

"The green is the residual charm," said Miriam. She looked at Harry. "Did you see any green?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't remember green," he said. He looked at Ginny. "Do you? You were down there longer than I was."

Ginny was startled to be included in the conversation. _She was the patient, wasn't she?_ But Harry was looking at her expectantly and no one else seemed to think his question odd. She thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"I don't remember any green," she said.

"A lot of it would have dissipated as the charm broke, or else destroyed when her magic untethered," said Miriam. "There is a decent amount that is completely intertwined though." She looked at Bill and then the healer. "It's as we thought."

Ginny was about to ask what it was they thought when Harry gave a sharp intake of breath.

"What's the black?" he asked suddenly. "It's dangerous, isn't it? It's what . . . killed them."

Bill nodded grimly but did not stop his chanting. Miriam answered instead. "They were trying – badly – to perform a spell that was more or less a reverse Horcrux. She shook her head in disgust. "I suspect they thought that each of you, Ginny and Harry, still harbored some part of Voldemort's soul inside. The spell they were doing – starting with the untethering of Ginny's magic and then the attempt to isolate the soul piece – was meant to capture Voldemort's power. Whether to bring him back or use it for themselves, I don't know." She grimaced. "I assume that they were planning to try to untether your magic too, Harry."

"Harry's too strong, he wouldn't have let them take his magic. He wouldn't have been as dumb as I was." Ginny knew it was important to let everyone know that. She saw Bill and Miriam exchange a glance with the healer. She leaned forward.

"I'm right, aren't I? It's the reason only my magic is gone; they couldn't get Harry's. And if I hadn't been so, so gullible about Malfoy, Harry wouldn't have had to come save me in the first place." It all made perfect sense to her, why wouldn't everyone just admit it? "Look," she tried again. "I know I fucked up. I'm sorry. But I'm the one paying for it, so please, if you think I'm going to be a Squib forever, please just let me know."

For some reason, Ginny couldn't help but keep looking at Harry while she was speaking. She couldn't have explained why, just that it seemed more important to tell him what she was thinking. He had a pained look on his face, as if her words were wounding him, but when she stopped to take a breath, he slowly shook his head.

"That's not true, Ginny. You actually saved both of us."

Bill had stopped chanting. He nodded. "I think Harry's right, actually." He pointed to the three vials floating in front of him. "If you hadn't had the charm on you, the Malfoys would have had a much easier time capturing your magic. And what magic they did pull out had changed so much from the charm that when they began the Horcrux curse, it caused everything to go to hell for them. Literally." He pointed at the vial of black.

"You helped so much, Ginny." Harry voice was quiet. "And all the while with a snake slithering around you. It was really . . . really strong of you to be able to do that."

Ginny heard what Harry was saying, but she couldn't help but think she was missing something important. There was something, something about the charm, that she needed to understand. It had made her stop fancying Harry, made people forget he'd rescued her in the Chamber, changed her magic . . . she rubbed her temples. But there was something else too. It floated at the edge of her brain but wouldn't allow itself to be captured. She hoped it wasn't because of her magic. She leaned back against her pillows and closed her eyes.

Hermione was speaking now. ". . . think they really thought Nagini had laid an egg? She was saying. Because we . . ." Ginny tuned out.

". . . Draco would have figured something else out. He was around the broomshed a lot." Now Ginny heard Ron, but his words didn't hold her either. She only wanted to look at Harry. She wanted him to say something about what was going on. _He will know_ , she thought to herself. What it was he would know, Ginny wasn't sure.

She turned in her bed and caught his eye. He looked back at her, his expression unreadable. _Once, I would have known what he was thinking. We were best friends._

Harry winced. "We still are best friends, Ginny. I hope."

Ginny realized she'd spoken aloud. She shook her head. "I don't know what to feel," she confessed.

Harry nodded. "You said that down in the Chamber too." He looked Bill and Miriam. "Is that because of . . .?" he began.

The healer answered instead. "I think it's time that everyone leave," she said briskly. "Except for Miriam."

Ginny thought Bill was going to protest, but after a second, he nodded. "Probably best that I'm not here to start." He waved his wand and the three floating vials settled themselves onto a small table between the beds.

The healer spoke to Bill. "Take these two –" she pointed to Ron and Hermione – "to the memory room. I want to know what they remember of their interactions with Miss Weasley this past year. We may need them later."

Bill nodded and ruffled Ginny's hair as he left. He clasped Harry on the shoulder. "Good luck," Ginny heard him say quietly. Harry nodded.

And then they were mostly alone. Miriam and the healer - her surname was Bria, she said - pulled up chairs and seated themselves between the two beds, facing them. Bria looked back and forth between Harry and Ginny.

"This not going to be easy," she said.

Harry nodded, but Ginny still didn't understand. She pointed at Harry. "Can you please explain why he needs to be here?" Ginny couldn't imagine why he was needed to restore her magic, and, truth be told, it made her rather uncomfortable to think about Harry, of all people, witnessing whatever it was the healer and curse breaker planned to do.

"I can leave, if she wants me to." Harry spoke quickly and Ginny felt a strange twinge of disappointment. _But she didn't want him here, did she?_

He started to get off his bed, but no sooner had he stood up than Harry's face turned pale and he swayed on his feet. The healer rushed over while Miriam shook her head. "I'm afraid your presence is vital here, Harry."

"Not to mention, he's in no shape to stand, let alone walk," said the healer tersely. She had stopped Harry from falling over and levitated him back onto his bed. As Ginny watched, he lay back on the pillows and closed his eyes, breathing heavily.

"Are you okay? Harry, I didn't mean that you . . . I mean, it's okay if you stay." Ginny watched Harry's face until he finally opened his eyes. After a deep breath, he pushed himself back into a sitting position.

"I'm okay," he said. "I didn't realize how weak I still was." For some reason, Ginny thought he looked upset.

"That was a nasty curse you took, shield or not," said Miriam. She looked at Ginny. "Harry needs to be here because the charm Professor Flitwick put on you was tied to your feelings for Harry," she said bluntly. "As it strengthened over time, and in the past year in particular, it became completely intertwined with your magic and how you used that magic." She shook her head. "It really was quite fortuitous, the way it worked out."

"Everyone keeps saying that, what do you mean?" Ginny was tired of feeling like she was a step or two behind. "Didn't it make me want to be nice to Draco? Why is that good?" The thought that had been flitting around in Ginny's mind finally landed. "It was the charm, wasn't it?" She felt a sudden, growing horror. "After it kept me from having that, that . . . crush on Harry, it made me fancy Draco instead. That's it, isn't it?"

She shook her head. "Why couldn't I have just let myself grow out of those feelings?" she muttered to herself. She turned to Harry. "I'm sorry. I should have been strong enough to let that silly crush go away on it's own. I shouldn't have let what people were saying get to me so much." She grimaced. "If I hadn't asked Flitwick to do the charm, you would never have been in danger."

"Will you stop apologizing? This isn't your fault," said Harry. He sounded annoyed. "And anyway, the charm didn't make you like Draco." He looked at the healer and Miriam. "Can you please explain the rest to her?" He shifted restlessly on his bed.

"I can explain some," said Miriam. "Some she is going to have to figure out on her own." She looked at Ginny. "Harry's right, the charm did not make you have feelings for Draco." She peered at Ginny. "You didn't did you? Have romantic feelings for him?"

Ginny shook her head. "I guess not," she acknowledged. "But, after a while, he didn't seem quite as . . . bothersome. Or dangerous." She wrinkled her nose. "I'm not sure when that happened."

"I think I know when it happened," said Harry quietly. Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw Miriam shake her head slightly. "Or maybe not," he amended.

"You're keeping something from me, what is it?" Ginny climbed off her bed. "There are too many pieces you aren't telling me." Frustration, bordering on anger, surged through her. Reflexively, she picked up her wand. When she realized that she was completely incapable of using it, she threw it across the room and rounded on Harry.

"This all concerns you, doesn't it? You're the reason I don't have my magic, and the reason I made all those stupid decisions about Draco and the reason I can't figure out what the hell I'm feeling from one second to the next." She huffed and paced.

"Ginny, I can't . . ." Harry began, but Ginny wasn't done. Yelling was something she didn't need magic for, and she wasn't going to give up what little control she still felt she had.

"I keep feeling like I need to be . . . doing something, or feeling something, but I don't know what it is. I get close to . . . whatever it is, and then it just disappears again." Having exhausted everything she could say, Ginny collapsed back on her bed and put her head in her hands.

There was a long beat of near silence. Ginny could hear muttering, and suspected the others had cast a Muffliato so they could speak in private, but she couldn't bring herself to look.

"In this case, I have to agree." Suddenly, Ginny could hear the healer speaking. She still didn't look up, but was aware that someone had moved closer to her bed.

"Ginny, the fact that you are feeling compelled to do things is a strong indication that your magic is trying to regenerate. That is a positive development." There was more movement.

"But the confusion you feel at the same time indicates that your magic is . . . fighting with the residual effects of the charm." Miriam's voice was calm but her words raised Ginny's ire.

"You said the charm was broken, that it's gone. Why is it still causing problems?"

"Not problems," said Miriam. "Changes. The charm caused you to do things . . . or not do things, that might have developed differently otherwise. Your magic is trying to come to terms with the conflict and regrow in a way that recognizes both your inherent power and also the intrinsic – and reasonable – changes wrought by the charm. The confluence, so to speak."

Ginny shook her head. "That doesn't help."

"Oh please, just tell her what you told me. This clearly isn't getting her anywhere." Harry's voice mirrored the frustration Ginny felt. She looked at him.

"What did they tell you?" she demanded.

Harry looked startled at her attention, but he masked it quickly. He spoke rapidly, as if he expected Miriam or Healer Bria to try to stop him. "The charm made you not have romantic feelings for me, but apparently, it could only mask that emotion, not the underlying . . ." He flushed and stopped. "Instead of fancying me, you just wanted to help me as much as possible, with the Horcruxes, and Voldemort, and anything else you could think of. It eventually made you start to take more and more risks. That's why you listened to Draco."

With Harry's words, everything snapped into place for Ginny. "And why I tried to run back to Hogwarts and why I put on the tiara? And flew to see the spiders? All that? I thought you had asked me to help you. I thought I was just doing what you wanted. Wasn't I?" Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw Miriam and the healer sit back down; one of them gave Harry a small nod.

He answered her. "I did want you to help me. Your help was great, I mean, you found one of the Horcruxes! But then I made a mess of everything after I realized I had feelings for you that were stronger than our friendship. It hit me like a . . . Bludger, actually. One night." Harry flushed again.

Ginny had many brothers, and she had a sense of what Harry meant. She blushed too. _Did he mean he had . . Why would he share that? But it's also rather nice to hear._

"I . . . I'm sorry Harry. I know that I wasn't always very nice about it when you told me how you felt." Ginny shook her head. "I couldn't understand it, that you felt that way. And you say that was the charm?"

Harry nodded. "Not that I think anything is different now," he said quickly. "We're friends, I know that. And I think that without the charm, we can go back to that friendship in a more natural way. You won't need to take risks to be my friend. And I understand that you don't . . . I just understand. And I'm okay with it."

Ginny sensed how difficult it was for Harry to say that. She knew what he meant, and felt a strange urge to reassure him about . . . her feelings. But she still had no idea what those feelings were, and so she kept quiet about it. Instead, she turned to the healer.

"Can you please tell me how all this relates to my magic?"

The healer walked over and picked up Ginny's wand from where she had thrown it. "Try to light the end again," she said, handing it back. The woman looked at Miriam, who nodded.

"I think that's right," she said.

Ginny had no idea why they thought things might have changed. She looked at Harry and he gave he an encouraging smile. She closed her eyes, hating the fact that they were all watching her try to do a spell that most people learned as soon as they got their wands.

"Lumos," she whispered. She knew right away that nothing had happened.

"A little more forcefully, Ginny. I know you can do it." Harry's voice was calm, and it grounded her somehow. She nodded to herself.

"Lumos," she said firmly. This time, she felt a little surge in her hand, and when she opened her eyes, the wand tip was flickering feebly. The light was so weak it was almost worse to see it than the darkness. But she had done it. Across the room, she heard Harry made a sound of relief.

"I thought so," said the healer with satisfaction. She looked at Harry, and then Ginny. "Ginny's magic will be regrown if and when she is able to reconcile the old with the new – her magic before and after the charm." She patted Ginny on the arm. "You can't ignore how your magic changed when it caused your rather reckless behavior, you need to embrace it, and you need to accept whatever you feel as it starts to grow back, even if those feelings don't seem to make sense."

"I'm confused again," she admitted. Some of the frustration had gone away, but Ginny still didn't know exactly what she needed to do.

"The compulsion to help Harry was strong under the charm," said Miriam. "As was your compulsion not to have other feelings for him. Those things will need to be part of the regrowth of your magic." She spoke frankly, but Ginny couldn't help but blush as the possible implications hit her. She couldn't bring herself to ask the most obvious question though.

"So how do we do that?" she asked instead. Harry leaned forward to listen. He gestured at the vials Bill had filled. They were still sitting on the table between them.

"And how can these help?"

Miriam waved her wand and the black vial winked out of sight. "That one is going back to my workspace to be studied; it's of no help to us anymore. As for the other two – she indicated orange and green – they will eventually have use, but only after Ginny begins regrowing her magic on her own."

"That's going to involve some work," said the healer. She smiled. "You and Harry are going to have a lot to talk about. And a lot of magic to practice."

Ginny felt something warm in her stomach that she didn't quite recognize. "Talking is going to fix this?" she asked hesitantly.

Healer Bria nodded. "In part," she said. "You need to figure out how your relationship with Harry affected the charm, how the charm affected your magic, and how it all fits together to organically recreate that magic inside of you."

Harry was nodding; he looked determined. "I'll do whatever I can to help Ginny," he said.

Ginny had a feeling that Harry's words would have bothered her a lot more a couple of days earlier. She nodded too. "I'm ready," she said.

Miriam stood up and muttered into her wand. Ginny saw her Patronus – it looked like a polar bear – leave the room.

"I've called back Bill, and your parents," she said. "As soon as the healers say Harry is strong enough, I think we can move you two to the Burrow. It will be more comfortable there and Healer Bria and I, and Bill, can oversee Ginny's recovery.

Bill, Arthur and Molly arrived then. Molly was understandably delighted to hear that Harry and Ginny would be moving to the Burrow.

"I've spoken to Kingsley, he's giving you the time off; provided that you come in for important lectures and do some work on your own," said Bill.

Harry nodded his thanks. "This is more important, right now," he said.

Bill smirked. "Not to mention the fact that you managed to get two more Death Eaters out of the way. The Aurors are pretty happy about that." He looked at his sister.

"All right if I help too, Ginny? I promise not to reveal any of your secrets."

Ginny shrugged. "I'm not sure I have any secrets," she said. "I just want my magic back."

Arthur put his hand on her shoulder. "That's all any of us want. I'm so happy to hear that there is a way to do that."

Healer Bria walked towards the door. "I'm going to bring a couple more experts in here," she said. "Hopefully you both can be discharged this afternoon." She gave Harry a stern look. "Although you will need to stay in bed for a few more days."

Harry nodded meekly. "Yes ma'am," he said. He looked at Ginny. "Are you all right with me living at the Burrow?" he asked. There was something in his tone Ginny didn't quite understand.

"Of course," she said. "It's not like you've never stayed there before. And you heard Miriam and the healers, I need you there to help me."

Harry nodded; he seemed relieved by her answer. "Okay then," he said.

Ginny nodded back. "Okay."


	19. Chapter 19

The first day back at the Burrow was awkward; there was no other way to put it. Harry was still too weak to be out of bed for much more than a trip to the loo, so the healers decided it would be most _beneficial_ for him and Ginny to share the twins' old room, which was right across the hall from the bathroom. It had the added bonus of already boasting two twin beds so there was no need for a camp bed. It also had the added detriment of still smelling rather like gunpowder. Ginny had picked up her wand to cast a cleansing spell on the air before she remembered she couldn't. She knew the healer, or Miriam, or Bill, or even Harry would have stepped in if she'd asked, but Ginny just couldn't bring herself to admit just how much help she needed.

Which was stupid, really. They all knew exactly how much help she needed.

Harry was lying fully on his bed; his eyes were open and he was talking attentively to Bill, but Ginny knew how exhausted the trip from St. Mungo's had made him. It annoyed her to see him trying to hide it.

"You can ask for a nap if you need it; no need to pretend you're fine," she said irritably.

Harry looked at her. "Just like you can ask for help for magic if you need it?" he said mildly. "No need to pretend you're fine." He lifted his wand. "Refreshi," he said quietly. The air in the room immediately cleared.

Ginny's ire evaporated as quickly as it had come. "Touche," she said. "And, thanks."

Harry shrugged. "This is going to be weird, no way around it. But I think if we can agree to be as honest with each other as possible, it will be a little easier."

The healer spoke up. "That's right," she said. "Restoring Ginny's magic is going to depend on the both of you being open and honest with each other. Harry, you told me you taught her the Patronus spell?"

As Harry nodded, Ginny broke in. "But I'm not nearly ready to relearn that, am I? It took me months the first time."

"No, no, the Patronus is quite a ways down the road. But it's important that Harry was the one to teach you; it means your magic is already predisposed to grow through him."

Ginny thought that explanation sounded a bit more intimate than made her comfortable, but she decided that her agreement for honesty did not require her to say so. She nodded instead; nodding was safe.

"How can I help Ginny grow her magic back? I'm not a healer," said Harry. He'd sat himself up straighter on the bed, Ginny saw. She herself was sitting sideways on George's old bed and leaning against the wall. From this position, she and Harry were not much more than a couple of arms' lengths apart; Ginny suspected the twins had actually magically shrunk the space between their beds so that they could better whisper to each other at night. She sat forward, equally interested in what the healer had to say.

"Some of it will only become apparent once we get started," said the healer. She gave them both a rather stern look. "I'm afraid this is not going to simply involve waving your wands and saying spells. Growing, or in this case, re-growing magic is a much more subtle, and personal, process. While a witch or wizard's magic generally grows organically, in this case, Miss Weasley will likely need assistance in identifying how her magic works and helping it gain a toehold inside of her."

Ginny suspected by the look on Harry's face that he was as confused as she was. The thought comforted her a bit. The healer smiled. "Don't worry, we will be here to tell you what to do. And I promise, you aren't going to feel like you are back in school and there will be no essays to write."

"Thank Merlin," said Harry dramatically. Ginny giggled.

"But some of what the two of you will have to discuss and do might get a little bit . . . personal." Miriam looked carefully at both of them. "There is really no way around it because the charm was so personal."

"I promise, Ginny, whatever I might hear or see is not going to leave this room." Bill came over to stand in front of her bed. "Getting you better is too important." He looked seriously at Harry. "That goes for you too, Harry. I know you've already shared a little bit about how the charm affected your relationship with Ginny, and I really appreciate your openness. Please try not to see me as Ginny's older brother as we go forward. I'm here purely in my capacity as curse-breaker."

Harry nodded and muttered, "Thanks, Bill." His face was rather red, and Ginny wondered exactly what he'd already told them. She'd find out eventually, she supposed.

"Well, no time like the present," said the healer briskly. "First off, call me Amli; it will be easier if we are all on a first name basis, okay?" She settled herself down into a chair and Bill and Miriam took seats of their own. All three of them had magic quick-quill clipboards with them, and Ginny felt a bit as if she and Harry were animals on display in the zoo. She shuffled self-consciously.

"Hold onto your wand, Ginny," said Bill. "Or keep it very close to you. It has a strong connection to you and will help the process along."

Ginny nodded. _Nodding is safe_ , even though the sight of her wand filled her with a kind of low-level nausea right now. She had always loved her yew wand, but now it was just a blatant reminder of what she she'd lost, and why she had lost it. _My fault, my fault, my fault,_ she thought to herself. She had hoped the chanting would have disappeared with the charm, but here it was, back in her brain. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Ginny, are you okay?" Harry's voice seemed to come from far away.

Ginny forced her eyes open and realized everyone was looking at her. "Sorry," she muttered. "Just thinking about . . . _be honest! . . ._ about how much I hate my wand right now."

To his credit, Harry didn't look at her with pity. Instead, he grimaced. "I can imagine," he said. "I broke my wand while we were hunting Horcruxes. It was my fault; I made a stupid decision and almost got me and Hermione killed. She saved my life but my wand broke. I felt almost naked without it."

Ginny hadn't known this. She mulled it over in her mind, suspecting that Harry was just trying to make her feel better by blaming himself. "Why do you think it was your fault?" she asked.

"Because it was," said Harry simply. "Hermione kept telling me it was a bad idea to go to Godric's Hollow, that Voldemort was likely to be watching the place or even there himself, and I didn't listen. I was too focused on finding and destroying all the Horcruxes and it made me a little . . . reckless." He looked sheepish. "I guess you understand that?"

Ginny gave a small snort. "Yeah, I do. But you had a good reason to act like that. Dumbledore had given you a task to do and you were just trying your best. Not like me. I was just being mental." She looked at him, a thought suddenly coming to her.

"Did you know?"

"Did I know what?"

"That I was acting mental, that there was something wrong with me."

"Oh." Harry looked uncomfortable. Instead of answering, he glanced at the healer. "I'm sorry, we seem to have gotten off track. What is it we are supposed to be doing?

Amli waived her hand at them. "Exactly this," she said. "I think Ginny's question is an important one." She turned to Harry. "Did you, or Ron and Hermione, realize that Ginny's behavior was off?"

Ginny watched as Harry shuffled on the bed. He was twisting his hands and looking down, out the window, anywhere but at her. "Well, umm," he said. "When she umm, started talking about Draco, yeah, we thought that was kind of . . . weird." He still didn't look at her. "And when she flew into the Forbidden Forest to try to get Acromantula webs."

"But that was this year, wasn't it? And she flew to the spiders after Draco cursed her?" Bill was looking over Miriam's shoulder at something written on the parchment she held. "What about earlier? When did you first recognize that something was unusual about Ginny's behavior?"

Harry looked even more uncomfortable, and the faint stain of red on his cheeks got deeper. He looked up at her brother. "It was after I told her I had feelings for her. And she told me she . . . didn't." He gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Ginny. I know I didn't make things easy for you, or for our friendship, after that."

Ginny could remember how odd it had felt to have Harry tell her that he liked her more than a friend. She knew it had been annoying even, to know that everything he said or did after that was colored by that admission. But it didn't feel annoying now, to know about it. Instead, Ginny wasn't sure what she felt now. Maybe a little sad to think about how she'd treated Harry, or else confused about why he'd even liked her in the first place; she was so damaged. She shook her head to herself. At least that was over now.

She pulled herself out of her thoughts to find Harry was still talking to the curse breakers.

"Did I make things worse? For Ginny and how the charm affected her, I mean. I couldn't really stop myself from, umm, you know." Harry blushed again. "And I think she could tell, even when I tried to hide it."

Miriam looked thoughtful. "It's possible that your feelings accelerated the charm's evolution, but given the nature of what it was trying to mask, and the way it manifested instead in Ginny's behavior, I don't think it ultimately mattered. It would have happened anyway, once you told her how you felt." She looked at her clipboard. "Let's see, what is next in my notes?"

Ginny thought Harry looked rather pale and exhausted, and she was about to say something about it when the healer spoke up.

"Actually, I think that's enough for today," said Amli "We've been here over two hours already and Harry especially needs his rest."

Bill nodded. "That's fine," he said. "I don't think we should to have Ginny try a spell just yet, but this was a good start." He stood up and Miriam and Amli followed suit.

Ginny didn't understand exactly what they had done that was a good start, but she was already tired of being watched and questioned, and just wanted everyone to leave.

"What do we do now?" Ginny looked at her brother and then at Harry. "Are we just supposed to . . . stay here?"

"You aren't prisoners, no," said Bill with a chuckle. "Although Harry needs to take it easy for two or three more days until his strength is back." He grinned. "Mum is absolutely beside herself in excitement at the thought of getting to feed you," he said. "And in bed, no less."

Harry grinned back. "I actually can't wait for that," he said.

"Try to take short walks when you can," suggested the healer. "Ginny can help you."

"If you don't mind, that would be great," Harry said earnestly. She was not surprised that there was no suggestion in Harry's tone. He was just being friendly, and he obviously wanted to regain his strength as quickly as possible, probably so he could get some distance and privacy from her. She nodded carefully in agreement.

"We will all be back in the morning; try to get a good night sleep." Miriam had turned towards the door when she suddenly turned back. "You both sleep in here, did anyone tell you that yet?"

By the look of surprise on Harry's face, Ginny suspected that no one had told him that fact either. They both shook their heads.

"No one mentioned that, no," said Harry, just as Ginny muttered, "I thought I was going to be in my own room."

"It's an important part of the healing process, that they two of you sleep in the same location," said the healer. "Particularly considering the fact that Harry's feelings for Ginny first manifested themselves through his unconscious." Amli spoke matter-of-factly; she might have been telling them what was planned for supper. But Ginny couldn't miss the way Harry ducked his head and looked down at his hands. Once again, Ginny had a feeling she understood, at least partly, what the healer meant. Her own face flushed.

"Right," she said weakly. "I guess I'll stay here too."

A welcome distraction in the form of Ginny's mum bearing a tray groaning with food interrupted the leavings of Bill and the others. He snatched a couple of warm rolls off the tray as it floated by, and Molly swatted her oldest son.

"Those are for Harry and Ginny!" she said in mock sternness.

"Yeah Bill, I'm the invalid, remember? And you'd take food from me?" Harry's voice had a slightly forced air to it, and Ginny suspected he was eager to get the conversation away anything having to do with his nighttime activities.

Bill grinned, mouth full. "I'm sure she has another dozen down in the kitchen," he said once he'd swallowed.

"I love those rolls," said Harry dreamily. He raised his wand. "Accio dinner rolls!"

Ginny couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy as she watched a number of the rolls float through the open door of her bedroom. Harry snatched one out of the air before the rest arranged themselves neatly on the tray her mum had put between the beds. Normally, she loved her mum's rolls too, but now they seemed to be mocking her.

"Sorry, Ginny, do you want one too?" Harry was still holding up his want.

"I can get it myself, I don't have to stay in bed," she said petulantly. And then, because she'd said she would, Ginny got up and grabbed a roll off the tray, knocking over the salt shaker that stood next to a covered serving dish. From the corner of her eye, she saw Bill and Miriam exchanged a glance and it made her even more cranky. She flopped back on her bed.

"I think Harry and I can manage now, okay? He's got the magic to call for anything we need, no need for you all to stay but because I couldn't even transfigure a Flobberworm right now." She knew she sounded childish, but she didn't really care.

Ginny expected more discussion about her behavior, or at least and admonishment from her mum, but before anyone else could react, the healer was nodding. "Good, good," she said, under her breath. "We'll let the two of them sort this out, okay?" Amli ushered everyone out of the room; even Molly didn't have time to say anything else, although she gave Ginny and Harry a quick smile as she left.

The feeling that everyone had left because she'd done something _interesting_ made Ginny seethe a little more. She roughly pulled apart the roll, not bothering to put any in her mouth.

The silence stretched.

"You're getting crumbs all over your bed," Harry finally said. He raised his wand. "Let me banish them for you."

"NO!" The word burst out of Ginny. "I don't need you . . . or anyone, taking care of me just because I can't do magic." She made a big show of brushing all the crumbs off her lap and the bedspread. "But especially you. I don't need you saving me again."

"Cleaning a few crumbs isn't saving you, Ginny," said Harry. His voice had a touch of irritation of his own. "I have to sleep in here too and I'd rather not have ants."

That was the last thing Ginny had expected him to say; she assumed Harry would have tried to make her feel better or assure her that, ' _don't worry, you'll get your magic back in no time_.'" She sagged on the bed.

"Sorry," she muttered. She waved her hand at the bread. "Go ahead and clean it up."

Harry did, without comment. He gestured to the tray. "Do you want to eat?"

Of course Ginny wanted to eat. In silence, she got up and served them both plates and then sat back down.

They barely spoke while they ate; Ginny was still feeling put-out and she suspected Harry knew it and was trying not to rile her up further. This, in turn, only increased Ginny's ire. By the time they had both finished the cookies her mum had made for dessert and Harry had carefully packed everyone back on the tray and floated it out of the room, Ginny wanted nothing more than to make him feel some of the same discomfort she did.

Without thinking too much about it, she looked at him frankly.

"So, everyone keeps talking about how you realized you liked me all of a sudden. At _night._ " Ginny didn't bother to keep the implication out of her voice. "Care to tell me what that means? Cause it's not really fair that you know and I don't. Since it concerns me."

To her perverse satisfaction, Harry flushed again. He looked down at his hands. Ginny couldn't help but goad him.

"Remember, I'm only going to get better if we are honest with each other. You do want me to get better, don't you Harry?" She purposely used his name.

Harry nodded jerkily. "Of course I do," he said. "It's just . . ."

"Just what?" Ginny spoke rashly. She wanted to hear him say it.

Harry twisted his hands again. "It's just that. . . the last time I told you, about that, that night. . ." he gave her a rather pleading look. "You and I stopped being such good friends. Things between us got weird, immediately. And now we are working on repairing that and I don't want it to happen again." He swallowed. "I'll tell you, of course. Anything to make you better. But it worries me."

For the second time that night, Harry had said something Ginny hadn't expected. She looked at him. His eyes were open and honest and she knew without a doubt that he was ready to tell her what had happened, despite the fact that she suspected it was rather embarrassing. He really did want to make her better.

Ginny's emotions flopped yet again. She felt rather ashamed at how she'd treated Harry, but she'd be lying to herself if she said that she still really did want to know about that night. It felt really important that she know, all of a sudden. She sat up and gave Harry a small smile.

"I know you would do anything, Harry. Thank you. And . . . I'm sorry. For the way I acted. I just can't stop feeling so confused. I know I'm being a prat, but I can't stop it. And then a second later, it goes away and I feel something different."

Harry smiled back. "I think we need to add a second rule," he said. "One, we have to always be honest. Two, we do not need to keep apologizing for things we say or do because of the charm, or the curse, or whatever."

Ginny really appreciated that Harry included himself in that rule, even though she was pretty sure that she was the only one who was going to need to be apologizing. She nodded. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"No problem." Harry was looking down at his hands again, but this time, the tension in his shoulders was less. "It was while we were on the Horcrux hunt," he said quietly. "Before Ron met you in Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day." Ginny heard him take a deep breath.

"I'd been following your dot on the Marauder's Map for a while; I wanted to know if you were going to the Room of Requirement to look for Horcruxes and I also wanted to keep an eye on where Malfoy was." He shook his head suddenly. "I should have known he was up to something then. I should have done more to stop him."

"No apologies, remember?" Ginny said softly. "All the Slytherins were horrible that year, you couldn't have done anything to stop it, even if you had been able to get back to the castle."

Harry nodded. "You're right," he sighed. "Thinking about that entire year is difficult for so many reasons." He straightened up. "But that's neither here nor there." He took another deep breath. "I need to tell you about the dreams."

 _Please, tell me about the dream._ The voice in her head sounded like her own; it sounded insistent. Ginny didn't quite understand it, but she forced herself to stay quiet, and after a second, Harry began to speak.

"I'd been watching your dot before bed," he said. "Ron was back, and he and Hermione were keeping watch together." Ginny gave a small nod that she understood.

"And I was thinking about Quidditch," he said, incongruously.

"Quidditch?"

Harry nodded. "Quidditch. And . . you." The flush was back on his cheeks but his voice was steady. "I had a dream about you wearing pajamas with little snitches and quaffles on them. I was trying to catch one." Ginny saw Harry smile with the memory and her own stomach gave an odd swoop.

Harry swallowed. "And then suddenly, the dream changed and you were being tortured or something, it was horrible." He looked up at her. "Ron and Hermione, they heard me yelling and woke me up. But by then I'd already . . . well . . ." Harry's voice trailed away.

"Okay, I get it," said Ginny quickly. She knew she was red too, and the feeling that she needed to know everything had gone. "I have brothers, I know that's normal."

Harry nodded. "It kept happening," he admitted. He looked right at her. "But I promise, that wasn't the reason that I fancied you," he said quickly. "It wasn't because of what I dreamed. I think that was just the hint I needed. I . . . I liked you for other reasons."

"What reasons?" she asked. This time, she was genuinely curious.

For some reason, Harry looked uncomfortable. He didn't answer her for a long moment. Ginny looked at him.

"Harry?"

He shuffled on the bed. "Right. Umm. The reason I liked you is that you were . . . you are . . . umm." He shook his head again. "I'm sorry," he said. "This is difficult to explain."

"Did something happen I don't remember?" Ginny was confused. "All I remember is that we were friends, and then you told me that you fancied me. Or, more than fancied," she allowed. "What's difficult about that?"

"It's because our friendship is what made you not have feelings for me," he said in a rush. "It was the exact opposite of what I felt. The better friends we got to be, the more I realized that you and I were . . . that I felt like . . ." Harry held up his hands in a helpless gesture. "Ron thought we were perfect for each other." He sighed.

Ginny remembered. "And I told you that our close friendship was the exact reason I could never have feelings for you. That it would feel unnatural to me. because we knew each other so well."

Harry nodded. "I don't know how much of that was the charm and how much is the truth," he admitted. "And, to be honest, if it's the truth, that's fine. I just guess I didn't really want to know that today." He shook his head. "Which is stupid of me. You have the right to feel, or not feel, whatever you want. It's not my place to tell you when or how."

Ginny couldn't remember the last time Harry had been so open with her. She knew it meant something important, and she wanted to say the right thing to comfort him. Unfortunately, she wasn't sure what the right thing was.

"I just wish I did know what I feel," she said softly. "I don't trust anything right now." She looked at Harry.

"But I'm sure our friendship was real. That wasn't the charm. I know it. The charm didn't do anything until later."

Harry nodded. "Thanks, Ginny. I think that will have to be enough for now." He yawned. "I think I need to get ready to sleep," he said. "I'm so tired."

It was later than Ginny had realized. The day had stretched out so long it felt like it had been a week since they'd left St. Mungo's. She got up.

"I can help you to the loo," she said.

"Thanks, Ginny," said Harry quietly. "That would help. I'm not that steady on my feet."

Slowly, Harry took her hand and stood up. It felt natural for Ginny tp wrap her arm around his waist, and when Harry leaned heavily into her, she felt a sudden surge of protectiveness for him. It wasn't exactly the strong urge she'd felt before, to help Harry no matter the means. It was more natural, her desire to help Harry, but no less necessary. She shivered.

"Are you okay?" Harry's voice was low in her ear.

Ginny nodded. "Just . . . just remembering how I was, before," she said. _Be honest._ "I really did some crazy things for you, didn't I? Now I . . . I want to help you, but it doesn't feel so off."

"I'm glad it doesn't feel off, Ginny. That's enough for now; you don't have to explain."

Ginny was glad; she didn't think she'd have been able to explain anyway. And once she and Harry were ready for bed and he had dimmed the lights, laying there with him in the room felt less awkward than she had feared.

"It's going to be okay, isn't it?" she said quietly. "We are going to figure me out."

"Ummhmm," said Harry. He sounded very sleepy. "We will, I promise."

Ginny didn't say anything else and soon, Harry's even breathing told her he'd fallen asleep. She lay in the quiet and dark for quite a bit longer, thinking about all she had learned, before she too was able to roll over and close her eyes.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Don't worry, this is the last "every day in a row" scene regarding Ginny's attempts to regrow her magic. I know it's a lot of dialogue, but I the discussions are important. I have a lot of family around in the next ten days so writing time will be scarce, but I'll do my best to have the next chapter up not too far into January. Happy New Year in the meantime!

Things seemed to go wrong almost immediately the next day, killing all the optimism Ginny had felt. She was tired from not enough sleep and cranky to be stuck inside when the beckoning blue sky out the window revealed a perfect day for flying. She had only started to suggest it when the idea was shot down.

"Absolutely not," said Bill. "You will not be getting back on a broom until your magic is completely restored. Even if you could get yourself up into the air, it's too dangerous."

Ginny hadn't considered that losing her magic meant losing flying too. Her mood turned blacker. "What about when it's partly back?" she asked. "Could I fly then?"

The healer shook her head. "I'd prefer not to have to heal broken bones along with broken magic," she said. "Flying can wait; we need to focus on more important things first."

"Nothing's more important than flying," said Ginny petulantly. She flopped back against the pillows. "How long?"

Bill sighed. "We don't know, Ginny. But that attitude isn't going to help." He had adopted the 'older brother' tone he used on her brothers. Ginny was usually exempt and she didn't like hearing it now.

"I thought you said you were here as a curse-breaker, not as an extension of mum," she said pointedly. Bill rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to respond, but Harry spoke first.

"I could take you flying if you want, Ginny. Once my strength's back, of course."

 _Why was he offering, did I really sound that pathetic?_

Ginny opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She wasn't sure if she was annoyed at Harry or not. She really, really wanted to fly though, and thought suddenly that flying with Harry was _important_. She couldn't get her head around what she was feeling; nevertheless, she found herself answering him anyway.

"You'd like to go flying with me? I need to go flying with you." Ginny felt strangely tingly. "I think we should fly. As soon as possible."

Her voice didn't sound quite like her own. Harry gave her an odd look, and Ginny saw Miriam and Bill whispering with the healer. Miriam looked over at her.

"What did you and Harry discuss last night? After everyone left?"

"We, uhh," Ginny shut her mouth and felt her cheeks flush. "Actually, that's kind of private." She looked over at Harry. He was looking down at his hands again, and his cheeks were also red.

"I'm sorry," said Miriam gently. "But in this room, nothing is private. I thought you both understood that. We – " she gestured to the others – "We need to know what you discuss, so we can match healing and curse-breaking spells to it."

"I didn't know that, but . . . okay," said Harry quietly.

Ginny's emotions, already on edge, spilled over. She was the one who had pushed Harry to tell her such personal things the night before, and now he was going to have to relive them again in front of her brother?

"No, not okay," she said shortly. "We talked about something personal last night. Harry doesn't have to tell you. I'll get better some other way." Ginny grabbed her wand and jumped out of bed. "Refreshi!" she said firmly, waving it around the room; the gunpowder smell was back. Her wand jerked in her had the tiniest bit, but the odor in the air didn't change.

"Damn it!" she yelled. She threw her wand across the room. Harry neatly caught it, which made her even angrier. "Stop helping me!" she said. Angry tears threatened at her eyes. She snatched her wand from him and turned away.

"No, I won't." Harry voice was uncharacteristically harsh.

"Won't what?" She asked mulishly. Despite herself, Ginny turned around. Harry had spun sideways on the bed; his feet rested on the floor as if he'd been about to get up.

"I won't stop helping you get better. In fact, I won't stop _wanting_ to help you get better," he said. He shook his head in frustration. "I know you are confused and angry and your emotions are . . . all over the place right now," he began.

"No shit," Ginny heard Bill say under his breath.

''That's not helping, Bill," said Harry firmly. He gave Harry a grudging nod, and Harry turned back to Ginny.

"But my emotions, and what I want, aren't confused." He glanced at the others in the room, and then back at her. "You are one of my best friends, Ginny. You have been for a long time. And losing that, this past year, was horrible."

Ginny opened her mouth to say something; she felt so guilty - and Harry raised his hand. "No apologies, remember? I get it. You don't have to explain and I'm not trying to make you feel bad."

Quietly, Ginny nodded. Harry kept talking. He shakily pushed himself off the bed and stood facing her. "And yes, it's true that I may feel . . . more, too, but the strongest need for me is to help you get better so that I get my best friend back, okay? I've seen glimmers of it these past two days, and I want it all the time." He shrugged, swaying slightly. Ginny took a step forward but he waved her off. "It's rather selfish of me, actually, since I don't know what you want. For us, I mean." He looked at her. "I mean, I know you want your magic back, and I think, I _think_ you want to stay friends. And I'm going to help with that, however I can."

The speech seemed to tire Harry; when he was finished speaking, he stumbled slightly backwards and sat heavily on his bed. After a moment, he twisted to lie down and then closed his eyes against the pillows.

Without really thinking about it, Ginny walked over to him. "Are you okay? What do you need?" she asked quietly. She put her hand on Harry's shoulder and felt the same surge of protectiveness as the night before.

This time, it was Harry who shivered. He slowly opened his eyes, searching out hers. "I need you to keep fighting this. And to let me help however I can – however Bill and the healers say I should." He grabbed at her hand and held it. "I don't care if it's embarrassing; we can both Obliviate them all when we're done," he said, giving her a hint of a grin."

Harry's certainly that Ginny was going to be strong enough at some point to even consider putting a memory charm on her brother filled her with a strange warmth. She squeezed his hand. "Okay, I promise," she said softly. She gave a rueful smile. "But you'll probably have to remind me about a hundred more times."

"It's a deal," nodded Harry.

"Ginny? Why don't you sit back on your bed, we need to talk to you both about the next stage of treatment." Amli's voice was close and Ginny started to feel the healer's hand on her back. She looked down and realized she was still holding Harry's hand.

"Right, okay," she said. She didn't let go of Harry's hand though. Harry shuffled over on the mattress.

"Do you want to sit here?" he asked.

 _Yes_. The voice was firm in her head, but Ginny couldn't quite bring herself to vocalize it. She carefully shook her head. "I'd . . I'd better sit over there," she said. She slowly took her hand out of Harry's and sat on her own bed. Her thoughts were swirling. She chanced a quick look back at Harry. He looked thoughtful; she was relieved he didn't seem upset. His next words were directed at the healer.

"There's something going on here, isn't there? Something we both need to know?"

Amli smiled. "Very much so," she said. "We didn't know if we would see it this quickly, but bodes well for Ginny's recovery. The healer turned to her. "You feel a strange need to act sometimes, don't you? Like maybe your choices aren't quite your own?"

Startled, Ginny nodded. "A couple of times, yeah," she admitted. "But not like it was before," she said hastily. "Nothing reckless." She squeezed her eyes, thinking. "More that I both want to do something and I feel like I have to do it, too."

"What kinds of things have you felt you _have_ to do?" Miriam and Bill were both leaning forward in their chairs.

Ginny thought for a second, trying to sift through all her emotions over the past days. "To fly with Harry," she said. "It's something I need to do."

"Something you _need,_ not just something you want to do because you miss it?" Miriam peered at her intently.

Ginny nodded. "I want to fly, of course, but when Harry offered to take me, it felt more important all of a sudden." She thought again, her mind going to a more personal place. "And just now, I wanted to sit next to him," she said quietly.

"Wonderful," broke in Amli, just as Bill said "That's great, Ginny."

"Why is it great?"

"Your magic is pushing itself to grow back," said Bill. "It's borrowing from Harry's own energy whenever that energy matches your own, and compelling you in the way you act and feel." He pointed at her wand, still clutched in her hand. "Here," he said. "Try the air cleaning spell again," he said. "It's something both of you would appreciate, right?" He looked at Harry.

Harry nodded. "It stinks in here," he said with a grin. He held up his wand. "We can try it together, if you want."

Ginny took her wand from Bill. She felt the same strange tingle from the earlier discussion about flying with Harry. "I'd like you to help me," she said quietly to him. She raised her wand and watched him do the same.

"Refreshi," she whispered, listening as Harry said the words too. Ginny felt her wand vibrate in her hand and the air immediately around her cleared. She looked up, surprised. "I . . . I think I did something," she said.

Bill was grinning at her. "You did," he said. "Most of the room now smells like . . . treacle tart?" He looked over at Harry, who nodded sheepishly. "But near you, I smell something more flowery."

Ginny wrinkled her nose. " Weird combination," she said. Her head felt oddly light. "But definitely better than _eau de explosion_ , as Fleur would say." The effort had exhausted her and she leaned back on her bed.

"That was amazing, Ginny," said Harry. "And I don't mean that to sound patronizing, if it does," he added quickly. "I'm just happy to see that things seem to be moving in the right direction. And sooner than expected." He shook his head. "Okay, that was definitely patronizing."

Ginny's head still felt light. "It's okay, Harry," she said. "I know what you mean. I'm happy about it too."

"Wonderful, wonderful," said Miriam. "Ginny is definitely moving in the right direction. But let's not get ahead of ourselves," she cautioned. "Restoring Ginny's magic is not going to be a straight path. There will be many bumps along the way."

"What's next?" asked Ginny. She almost felt like bouncing in her seat. "I want to do more." She looked over at Harry. "Can we tell them about last night now? What we talked about?"

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry watched Ginny's face after she successful cast the air-clearing spell with more than a little relief. She just looked so _happy_ , and it was the first time he remembered seeing that emotion in a long time. He wanted to keep it there.

He nodded. "Of course," he said. He shrugged. "They already know the basics, anyway." He forced himself to look the healer and then Miriam straight in the eye. _Not Bill yet,_ but he suspected Ginny's brother didn't really need eye contact about this either. "I told you, yesterday, that I realized I liked Ginny _physically,_ first." Everyone nodded solemnly. He took a deeper breath. "Right, like I said. But pretty quickly I knew I cared for her because she was my friend, first and foremost. And, I told her, last night, that I was worried." He grew quiet, gathering his thoughts.

"Worried?" Miriam finally broke the silence.

"Worried because when he told me how he felt, it kind of ruined our friendship too. Because I told him our friendship would never allow me to feel . . . more, about him." Harry saw Ginny grimace. "And from that moment on, our friendship was even less."

Harry could see clearly where Ginny's thoughts were going. "Remember, no apologies, Ginny," he said firmly. He looked at the rest of the room. "It's one of our rules," he explained. "No saying 'sorry' for how the charm made us behave."

"Made me behave, you mean," corrected Ginny. "It's okay, Harry, we know it was all me."

Harry knew better than to argue. He changed tactics instead. "Okay, yes, the charm was all you," he agreed. "But since it also managed to save both of us from the Malfoys, I'm happy to call us even." Ginny opened her mouth and Harry held up his hand.

"And to be clear, even if the charm hadn't made you go down into the Chamber on your own, I'm sure Draco would have figured out another way to take your magic and try to destroy us both. From what Ron saw, it sounds like Draco was planning to charm your broom, to steal your magic that way. And who knows where we would be if that had happened." He looked at her. "So please, can we just put all that behind us? It won't do any good to revisit it again. Okay? Please?" Harry gave Ginny a long look. After a second she nodded.

"I'll stop," she said grudgingly. Then she gave a sudden, small smirk. "You're going to remind me if I don't won't you?" she asked.

"Every time," Harry said, suddenly feeling more cheerful. He looked around. "So, where were we? Oh yeah. Me telling Ginny I had feelings for her made everything between us go pear-shaped."

Across the room, Ginny snorted. "That's putting it politely." She rolled her eyes. "I was completely mental."

"Don't let Ron hear you say that, Ginny," said Harry. "I'd hate for you to let him know he was right."

The others had been quiet, watching Harry and Ginny banter. Harry saw that the healer had a small smile on her face, and Bill was nodding.

"Let's talk about the Horcruxes," said Miriam. The warm feeling in the room broke. Across the room, Harry saw Ginny's face pale. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"What do you want to know?"

HPHPHPHPHP

The next hours were emotionally and mentally exhausting for Ginny, and, she suspected, for Harry. Bill, Miriam, and Amli questioned her about everything she had done to try to find and then destroy the tiara Horcrux. They were particularly interested in what Harry had told her to search for, and as she watched, he squirmed uncomfortably on his bed.

"What is it, Harry? Honesty, remember?"

Ginny was less surprised than she should have been to hear that Hermione had put a memory charm on her to make her forget what Harry had told her about the Horcruxes. "Draco guessed, I think," she said. "Or, made me remember somehow." She looked curiously at Harry. "Why would you tell me about the Horcruxes and then make me forget?"

Harry looked embarrassed. "I kind of lost sight of the fact that it would put you in danger to know," he admitted. "I just kept thinking about how great it would be to have you searching the castle while we were searching everywhere else." He shook his head. "Eventually I convinced myself that you could protect yourself – when I told you again at King's Cross." He shook his head. "I was so stupid. If one of the Carrows had questioned you, it could have been devastating for you."

"Devastating for more than just me," Ginny said reasonably. "This was before you knew you liked me, right?"

Harry nodded, seeing where her thoughts were going. "Once I started having feelings for you, I didn't want to do anything to put you in danger."

"And that's when I started getting even more reckless," she said. "I understand now." She shared a long look with Harry. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, but there seemed to be a familiarity in his expression that she remembered from years ago. She smiled, and he tentatively smiled back.

"What did you feel, when you put the tiara on?" Amli's voice interrupted her thoughts and Ginny bit back a sigh of irritation. Every time it felt like she was close to understanding something, it got pushed aside.

Ginny looked over to where the healer was sitting. She shuddered. "At first, I felt . . . invincible," she said. "And then I felt horrible. I knew . . . I just knew, with absolute certainly, that everything was my fault." She grimaced. "I couldn't even tell you what it was blaming me for. I just knew I had done something wrong."

"But at the same time, the fact that you had found the tiara was important, wasn't it?"

"Very important," said Harry firmly. "If Ginny hadn't found the tiara ahead of time, who knows how long we would have had to spend searching for it once we finally got into the castle and the final battle started. She saved a lot of time, and that saved lives."

Ginny stared at Harry. "I never thought of it that way," she said quietly. "I always . . . always just focused on everything being my fault."

"Well it wasn't," said Harry roughly. Then he gave her a tiny smirk. "Maybe your methods weren't always the best, but I promise, you did more good than harm. Just, don't go running into a bunch of Dementors the next time you need to get somewhere."

Ginny frowned. "My Patronus didn't work, remember? When you found me in Hogsmeade trying to sneak back into the castle. My magic was fine back then, but my Patronus didn't work." She turned to her brother. "Why didn't my Patronus work?"

"You were thinking about flying, that's what you told me," answered Harry instead. "Maybe that wasn't a strong enough memory. What did you used to think about, when you were first learning the spell?"

Ginny shrugged. "The first time I made a corporeal Patronus I was thinking about flying too. You know, that time we snuck out during your Fifth Year after Umbridge banned you from the team. I don't know why it worked then when I thought of flying but not later."

Bill gave her a sharp look and then he and Miriam and the healer were whispering together again. Ginny sighed, knowing they weren't likely to tell her anything useful until they were quite ready. She still wasn't really able to follow the logic behind their questions or how just talking all this time would help her regain her magic. She had expected to be in a big room somewhere – maybe like where the DA had practiced – having various people come in to teach her all the spells she had forgotten. She was ready to practice as long as it took to get them right; all this sitting with very little action was making her more than restless.

"You can teach me," she said suddenly, looking at Harry. The idea had come to her all at once.

Harry looked confused. "Teach you what?"

"All the spells and things I've lost. Even Bill said I'm already pre-disposed to learning from you. All this –" she waved her hand around the room – "All this talking doesn't seem to be going anywhere quickly. I want to start practicing my magic."

Harry looked hesitant. "I don't know, Ginny. Bill and the healer seem to think that what we're doing right now – all this talking – is what's best."

Ginny got off her bed and walked over to Harry's. "Scoot over," she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Miriam glance at her and then go back to her conversation. Harry moved over on his bed and Ginny perched next to him. "I want you to teach me something," she said. "All this talking, it's taking forever. You saw how I was already able to do the air-cleaning spell with you helping me, let's try something else."

"Let me just ask Miriam and . . ."

"Oh, don't bother them," Ginny huffed. "They are too busy trying to figure out the broader magical and curse-breaking implications of my case. I'm tired of being their experiment, I want my magic back."

Harry sighed. "Fine. What spell do you want to try?"

Ginny thought. "Lumos. That's an easy one."

Harry nodded. "Okay, well, I don't really need to teach you that, right? You just hold up your wand and think of needing light before you say the spell."

No matter how Ginny shook her wand and said the words, the end of her wand stayed resolutely dark. Harry bit his lip and didn't say anything when she growled in frustration; at least she managed not to throw her wand this time. It was only when she looked up and realized that Bill and Miriam and Amli had finished their conversation and were watching her that she turned on them - - and Harry.

"I thought you were supposed to be able to teach me!" she said to him. Angry tears prickled at her eyes again but she blinked them back impatiently.

"Ginny, I don't think . . . " he began. She waved him off and turned towards her brother.

"That's what you said, right? That Harry was the one who was going to be able to teach me how to get my magic back? I'm sitting right here next to him, and he told me what to do, and . . . nothing. Why can't I even light the end of my fucking wand?"

"Because it doesn't work that way." Amli's voice had a touch of impatience in it. "Your connection to Harry is not simply one of teacher and student. It requires a more intimate understanding and presence, and that takes time. Her voice softened. "I know you are frustrated by our half-answers, but we have never seen this exact situation before. Your success with the air-cleaning spell suggests that we are on the right path though." She gave Ginny a serious look. "I want you to get your magic back, Ginny. And that means letting the process work itself out slowly. Trying to force Harry – or yourself – to make your magic grow before it's ready is not going to work. I'm sorry. I wish it was that easy."

Speech over, the healer turned back to Bill and Miriam to continue their conversation. Ginny felt the sting of the admonishment and her first instinct was to make a barbed comment, whether at the healer, or her brother, or Harry, she wasn't sure. She took a deep breath, trying to get over the hurt she felt at being spoken to like she was a little girl.

Harry put his hand on her arm. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I think it was my fault; I didn't really _need_ the light, you know? I should have suggested a different spell."

Ginny sighed. "It's not your fault, Harry. The healer is right. It's not just a question of you teaching me." She frowned. "I kind of know what she means. Every so often I can _feel_ it, that my magic wants to emerge. And it's not really connected to a specific spell or anything. It's more of a warm, tingly feeling." She grimaced. "I think that's what the healer was trying to say, that finding those moments is going to involve . . . you and me somehow."

Harry nodded. "A lot of talking." He squeezed her arm. "I know I have a lot of other things to tell you, when you're ready. Especially about the final battle. But . . . I don't think we're ready yet."

Ginny nodded. She had started thinking about some of the . . . odd things that she had experienced during the final battle herself, and they were making her wonder herself. But she wasn't quite ready to go there, and it was with no little amount of relief that she welcomed her mother, carrying yet another tray groaning with food.

Miriam stood up. "I think we will all leave you to your lunch, and then a rest is in order this afternoon. Harry especially needs another day or two in bed, but hopefully you won't be stuck only in this room much longer."

"There's a Harpies – Wasps match on the wireless I'd like to hear," said Harry. He looked at Ginny. "That sound okay to you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Let's see, a comfy bed, my mum's cooking, a Quidditch match to listen to and good company? No, that doesn't sound okay at all."

Harry grinned back. "I'd throw a pillow at you, but I don't want to knock over the pumpkin juice."

Ginny found it easy to keep up conversation about Quidditch with Harry while they ate; by the end of the meal they had agreed to a friendly wager on the game. She was feeling more comfortable than she had in a long time, and when he picked up his wand to turn on the wireless, it felt very natural to grab her own too.

"Let me do it," she said. She was gratified to see that Harry didn't show any surprise. He put down his wand as if it was the most natural thing in the world to let Ginny cast the spell.

And it worked; the flick of her wand felt _right_ and seconds later, the fuzzy sounds of the wireless filled the room.

"Thanks, Ginny," said Harry. He leaned back against his pillows.

Ginny watched him quietly for a minute. She felt tingly all of a sudden and closed her eyes, trying to figure out what her magic wanted. The wireless was still playing static.

"I think . . . if I'm over there," she began hesitantly. She pointed to Harry's bed. "Umm, I think with the angle, I might be able to . . . find the right channel?"

"Oh, umm, yeah." Harry scooted over on his bed. "Good idea."

Not entirely sure what she was doing, Ginny settled herself next to Harry, careful not to touch him. "It feels kind of weird," she admitted. "But I think I need to be here."

"We used to sit together all the time to listen to Quidditch," said Harry. "I'm glad we can again." He looked at her. "Do you think you can find the game?"

To Ginny's delight, she could. As the voice of the announcer filled the room, she leaned back against Harry's pillow. Last night, she had assumed that one small success was going to be the start of the rapid return of her magic. Now, she knew better. Still, she couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face. Things might be weird, but they weren't bad.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Instead of a New Year's resolution, I have a New Year's confession, thanks to a review left while I was away that asked me about Harry and Cho's relationship, and how far they had gone, physically. The reviewer was concerned that Harry might have had strong feelings for Cho, or Ginny for Dean. And here is the confession: when I read the review, I was confused, because in my mind, Harry and Cho didn't date for that long. And then I went back and reread those chapters, and realized that when I had them get together earlier in his fifth year, and then I skipped writing about his sixth year, I ended up having them date for a year and a half, which was not my intention. I'm not going to go back and change that part, but I added a discussion here that I hope mitigates any concern about Harry and Cho's relationship. Special thanks to happyhouri for asking the question. And another special thankyou to super-reviewer StephanieO for her thoughtful comments. And thank you to everyone else who has reviewed too – I really appreciate them all!

Three days later, Harry was thrilled to finally be allowed out of bed, and better yet, outside. It didn't even matter that the last mild days of early November had given way to more traditional weather and that he and Ginny were now walking to the garden under gray and misting skies. He was just happy to be in the fresh air, and even happier that earlier that morning, Ginny had been able to cast a warming charm on the breakfast tray her mum had brought up to them. They had been talking about food, actually, and the eggs and bacon had gone cold during Harry's story about his first meal at the Burrow. Ginny remembered Harry's visit with the vivid recollection of her pre-Chamber crush, and after she had successfully re-warmed their food, they shared a comfortable laugh about butter dishes, stolen cars, and gnomes. It was during this last topic that Ginny had suddenly gone quite still, and then jumped of her bed and insisted in a serious voice that the two of them go down to the garden _right now._ With the blessing of the healer and Miriam, Harry had followed.

They had become used to the constant presence of healers and curse-breakers and now Harry barely noticed their quiet footsteps behind him and Ginny. She was walking determinedly next to him, close enough that her arm brushed up against his with increasing regularity. Ginny's closeness was another thing Harry had become accustomed to, and he was able to enjoy her proximity without allowing his mind (or body) to go anywhere it shouldn't. It was a relief; Harry hadn't had one of _those dreams,_ let alone a wank, since before he and Ginny had escaped the Chamber, and he wasn't sure when those urges would return. For the first time, he hoped they would stay away; helping Ginny would be much more difficult if he was battling to hide any sort of physical desire for her.

If he was being completely honest with himself, of course, he knew that his feelings hadn't really gone away. They were still there, but buried deep and fairly easy to ignore right now. Harry was determined to ignore them as long as this took. He was prepared to ignore them forever, if needed.

But there was no need to let his thoughts go there now. Ginny was grabbing at his hand and pulling him through the garden gate with a delighted look on her face.

"Let's get rid of all the gnomes, Harry; I don't need any magic to toss them farther than you!" Ginny's voice held more than a hint of teasing and Harry quickly matched her.

"You're on, Weasley," he said, knocking his hip against hers. "Although, you have an unfair advantage; you throw Quaffles, which is like throwing a gnome. I only have to catch a tiny Snitch." He gave her a fake pout.

"Like the snitch on my pajamas? Do you think you will try to catch that one again?"

Harry looked quickly at Ginny. She had stilled, much as she had up in her room before suggesting they go to the garden. Her voice was not quite her own either – the seriousness was back – but she was looking at him with clear eyes. As he watched, Ginny's tongue darted out against her lips.

"If you want to try, I mean. To catch it. The snitch."

They stared at each other for a long minute. Harry had no idea what to say. An emphatic _yes_ seemed out of place. Before he could come up with a better answer, Ginny gave a small shudder and a blush climbed her cheeks.

"Oh," she said softly. "I didn't mean to say that." She frowned. "At least, I don't think I meant to say that. Out loud." Her voice was mostly back to normal. She looked up at Harry. "I'm sorry if that embarrassed you. I suspect you've had more than enough discussion about that topic for a lifetime, huh?" Her face was still red but she looked at him frankly.

Harry shrugged. "I think I've kind of given up being embarrassed at this point," he said. He glanced behind the two of them. "At least it looks like Bill and the others are too far to hear us."

"Hmm," said Ginny. She scrunched her eyes in thought and raised her wand. "Muffliato," she said firmly. Harry felt the air around them shift in a familiar way. He grinned. "I think you did it, Ginny!"

Ginny's grin matched his. "I think I did too!" She looked delighted. "Now we can talk about private things without everyone else hearing us." She flushed again. "Not that we have to talk about private things, of course. Unless you want to." Her voice had gone serious again.

"You want to, though, don't you?" Harry asked her. "Or . . . you _need_ to?" He was vaguely aware that Bill and Miriam had stopped by the entrance to the garden and were watching them. He was certain either one of them could have broken Ginny's spell in a trice, but neither lifted their wand.

Ginny nodded. "It's like the other times," she said. "I don't know exactly what causes it, but sometimes when we are talking, I get this very . . . insistent feeling. Like, I absolutely had to bring you down to the garden earlier. And just now, I had to, umm . . . talk to you more. About those dreams." She gave a little shrug. "I don't know why, but it feels important." She looked quickly at him. "Not the actually details of what _happened_ , I mean. Just the . . . your . . . feelings at the time?" She cocked her head at him. "But you don't have to if you don't want to." She stepped closer to Harry so that there were only inches between them.

Harry regarded her for a minute.

"I was thinking about all the brilliant talks we used to have, and how I hoped that we'd both live to have more of them," he finally said. Ginny was so close he could see individual droplets of mist clinging to her eyelashes. "But not just as friends," he admitted. "You were usually sitting in my lap or leaning against me or something."

"That sounds nice," Ginny said. She stepped even closer and her tongue darted out again. "Did we ever . . . kiss?"

Harry nodded slowly. "We did," he confirmed. "Kissed and . . . more." He looked down and brushed a piece of Ginny's hair off her face. His body was tingling. He swallowed. "But I don't know . . . umm . . ." he began.

Ginny took a deep breath. "You're right," she said quietly. "I don't either, not now." There was a hint of regret in her voice. She took a step back. "Thank you," she said. "For not . . . you know. While I'm not sure about, about anything."

Harry nodded. "Of course," he said, more firmly than he felt. His thoughts were swirling, but the confusion helped him keep his body in check. _So much for thinking those feelings would be easy to ignore._ He took a deep breath. "We should really deal with the gnomes now, okay?"

Ginny gave him a small smile. "I'm still going to beat you," she said.

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Ginny was determined over the next few days to try to figure out exactly when and why she would have those odd compulsions. She didn't understand why they were important or what they meant, but the healers were pleased that they were happening with more frequency. Miriam urged her to give into them whenever they arose, but Ginny found herself trying to fight it any time one of the feelings brought her physically closer to Harry. He was being beyond decent about everything; rearranging his Auror training schedule to take lessons at the Burrow and listening to her prattle on about whatever topic the healers set for that day, going along gamely when her odd urges pulled them down to the kitchen to bake when he mentioned how much he loved her mum's treacle tart and up to Ron's room to practice changing all of his Cannon's posters to ones from the Harpies. She had no idea if he still had feelings for her - they had carefully avoided that topic during their talks – and she didn't want to make this any harder for him. Ginny couldn't forget the look on his face in the garden when she'd almost kissed him. She knew he would have, if she'd asked, in the name of her recovery, of course. Ginny wasn't sure how she felt about any of it; her own need to kiss Harry, or the knowledge that he would have kissed her back.

And so she let her compulsions lead them when they involved activities where she could use her magic. It was slowly coming back - she could feel the difference when she lifted her wand – although her relief at regaining her magic was tempered by the fact that she was still performing somewhere around the level of a first or second year. But she doggedly resisted it when those urges pushed her to do something for Harry. He'd come back after attending a required Auror training session rubbing his neck and describing the physical obstacles they'd been required to overcome, and the need to massage his back was so strong that Ginny had finally escaped to the loo with the excuse of a stomachache just so she wouldn't touch him. His solicitousness upon her return didn't help, and she finally told him she just needed to sleep. Harry immediately got up and said he would give her some privacy for a bit, and left the room, even though she knew he was a lot more exhausted than she was. Ginny was still awake, faking sleep, when Harry returned more than an hour later to get into bed. She couldn't bring herself to speak to him though. It was the first night they didn't fall asleep talking.

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"So, let's talk about snakes." The healer was alone with Harry and Ginny today and they were in the Burrow's sitting room for a change of scenery. They had a large plate of cookies between them and the sight of the wireless in the corner of the room had led them to a laughing conversation about Molly's love of Celestina Warback. The healer's comment sucked all the joy out of the room in seconds.

Ginny was immediately on her guard.

"Snakes? Why do we have to talk about them?" she asked. There was a familiar swoop of dread in her stomach.

"We don't need to talk about snakes," Harry agreed quickly. He'd been sitting casually on the floor, leaning back against the sofa, and now he slowly got up and sat properly on the cushions. Ginny saw him glance at her with concern.

"Oh, but I think we do," said the healer. "Snakes are a big part of the connection between you, both emotionally and magically." She looked at Ginny. "You weren't afraid of snakes before the first time in the Chamber, were you?"

Ginny looked down at her hands; she didn't want to answer. _She hadn't been prepared for this._ There was a long moment of silence and then the sofa shifted and Harry's hand was on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Ginny," he said.

Harry's presence was warm and grounding. Ginny ignored the desire to lean into him and forced herself to focus. Finally, she shook her head. "They didn't bother me at all then," she said quietly. "But after seeing the Basilisk, and what it . . . did . . ." she shuddered and closed her eyes. "I couldn't stop seeing it."

"What did you see?" asked the healer.

Ginny swallowed. She hadn't told anyone this before; indeed, the years she was under the charm had masked the memory even from herself. But she remembered it now, and remembered the horror she'd felt and the nightmares she had endured afterwards. She took a deep breath.

"I see the snake . . . the huge Basilisk," she began hesitantly. "It's everywhere, down in the Chamber, I feel its scales when it slithers by me. And Harry . . ." she closed her eyes. After a minute, she felt Harry squeeze her shoulder. "Harry is fighting it, with Fawkes," she said in a whisper. "And then it strikes him, and he's bleeding and dying, right there in front of me. But he saved me first." Her voice dropped further. "Harry saved me."

In the silence that followed, Ginny was acutely aware of the sound of Harry breathing softly next to her. She didn't look at him. Finally he spoke.

"I didn't realize you'd seen all that, Ginny. I thought you were mostly unconscious."

Ginny gave a small shrug. "I was, sort of," she said. "But I was aware at the same time, somehow. And after you stabbed the diary, it was clearer to me."

Harry nodded. "Riddle had your awareness, and then when he was gone, you got it back."

Ginny shrugged. "I guess," she said. She wasn't really interested in the mechanics of what she had seen. "I had nightmares all that summer, about you dying to save me from the snake." She wrung her hands. "There was so much blood, and you were so pale, lying there on the ground."

Next to her, Harry shuddered. "So were you," he said quietly. "I had nightmares too. What if I'd been too late, or if Fawkes hadn't come, or the sword didn't appear?" He squeezed her shoulder again. "They were horrible."

"And yet, you asked Professor Flitwick to charm away your memory of Harry in the Chamber, not of the snake," observed the healer. "Which likely affected the way the charm made you behave towards Harry, and towards your magic."

Ginny nodded slowly. "I couldn't stand it, seeing him there, dead."

"I wasn't dead, though." Harry's voice was gentle. "Although, I guess that doesn't really matter for the nightmares, does it? They are never rational. That's what usually makes them so horrible."

Ginny gave in to the urge to scoot closer to Harry. She felt him stiffen slightly but he relaxed a second later. She carefully did not look at him.

"I still had nightmares about snakes, and the Chamber, after the charm," she said. "And I think I knew that Harry was somehow connected to them. I just didn't realize that he'd saved me." She raised her head to look him in the eye. "I'm so sorry I forgot for all that time, Harry. I think if I had remembered, maybe I would have . . ." she stopped, confused. Next to her, Harry was very still. "Maybe it would have been different," she concluded weakly. She looked down. At some point, Harry had taken his hand off her shoulder and now it was resting on the sofa between them. The urge to grab it warred with her attempts to avoid anything physical and she just stared for a minute.

The urge won. As quickly as possible, she wrapped her hand around his and squeezed. Then she pulled back, feeling her cheeks flame.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Don't be." Harry voice was low in her ear. "Please, don't be." He turned sideways on the couch to face her. "Can I ask you a question?" he said.

"Of course," Ginny said. She waited.

Harry took a deep breath. "I was just wondering," he began hesitantly. He stopped again and Ginny waited. "It seems like, some of the compulsion you are feeling to do things . . . that they might involve me." Harry's voice was quiet but he kept looking at her in the eye. "Is that true?"

Ginny was relieved it was finally out in the open. She nodded. "It's true," she said. "I don't know what it means, but sometimes, it's not that I need to do _something_ , like toss gnomes in the garden or help my mum magically clean the kitchen, but that I need to, I don't know, be with you. Or be closer to you. Or . . . or kiss you."

Next to her, Harry let out a tiny breath. "Oh. Okay," he said. "I thought that it might . . . I mean, that makes sense. Okay. Yeah." His voice sounded a bit strained.

"But I've been trying to resist," Ginny said quickly. "I know it's not fair to you, and you don't have to respond, not at all. It's fine. My magic is coming back anyway. You don't have to pretend to like me or anything."

Harry was very quiet.

And suddenly, Ginny knew. She looked at him. "You still do, don't you?" she asked gently. "Have feelings for me?"

Harry gave a shrug and a tiny nod. "I'm sorry, Ginny."

"Don't be." She threw his words back at him. "Please, don't be sorry. I guess I assumed that with everything that had happened, you wouldn't anymore." She grimaced. "After I was so stupid, and put you in danger, and now that I'm . . . broken."

"You aren't broken." Harry spoke with some force. "My god, Ginny, you are one of the strongest people I know. Do you realize how much you helped me, all these years? Yes, I know that the charm changed things recently," he said impatiently, waving away her attempt to interrupt. "But that's what the healers said, and your brother, and Miriam, right? The charm got so strong because you are so strong." Harry's eyes blazed at her with something and Ginny felt an odd jolt in her stomach. She had grabbed his hand again and now the space between them felt heavy.

"I just . . . don't know what I feel," she finally said. "And I don't want to be unfair." She looked at him. "I feel something though," she said. "But how much of it is the charm and how much is me . . ." she trailed off. "I don't want to hurt you."

Harry shook his head. "You won't hurt me, I promise you won't," he said. "This . . . whatever we have now," he said, gesturing between them, "it's a million times better than before. I can live with it, even if this is as far as we go. You won't hurt me," he said again.

Ginny nodded, feeling a weight she hadn't quite been aware of lift away. "Okay," she said.

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Over the next couple of days, Ginny's magic continued to return in fits and starts. She proved quite adept at defensive spells; Bill suspected that her previous experience in the DA made her particularly amenable to learning DADA from Harry a second time. When Bill made a pointed comment about how Ginny leaned into Harry while practicing a spell, she was quite pleased with his yelp when her Stinging Hex hit its mark.

She also had little trouble relearning many of the everyday life spells, those needed to levitate or summon objects, banish items, set locking and silencing charms. Harry punctuated her practicing with stories about his own experiences, and Ginny could almost feel herself borrowing that power to create her own. After a particularly harrowing discussion about Harry's having to learn the Accio in short order before the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Ginny summoned a plate of fresh current buns from the kitchen, only dropping one.

The healer cautioned her that things were going to get more difficult soon; Ginny still hadn't had much success with her magic just being available to her when she needed it; she still had to rely on discussions with Harry and the feeling that she was compelled to borrow from him whenever she did a spell. But it was enough for now. She was gaining new skills every day and Ginny hoped she wasn't imagining that Harry seemed to be enjoying himself too. He was gone two full days each week for Auror training, and Ginny worked on her own or with Bill during those times; so far she was finding it much harder to make progress without Harry there.

The unpredictable urges to be around Harry hadn't waned either, but the two of them had stopped blushing and stammering when Ginny would suddenly slide over on the sofa to lean against him or grab his hand to hold as they walked outside. She hadn't admitted it yet to Harry, but Ginny felt a small thrill of . . . _something,_ every time she touched him. At first, she had thought it was a purely physical thing, the swoop in her stomach, the tingles, even once a jolt of heat between her legs – Ginny wasn't stupid, she knew what all that meant, even if she wasn't sure how much of it was real. But lately, the warmth she felt around Harry was different. She liked hearing him laugh, especially when she'd been the one to cause it, and the light in his eyes when she mastered a new spell made her want to keep working and working, just to see it again. They talked later and later into the night, usually about things they had shared together in the years before the charm had really gotten in the way – Sirius, stories from Hogwarts, Quidditch (of course). It was quickly becoming Ginny's favorite time of day, watching Harry climb into bed across from her and turn onto his side, waiting for her to snuggle under her own blankets and face him. She knew something was changing but didn't want to mention it, for fear that giving words to it would make it disappear.

She was tired the day a new healer arrived to work with her on more difficult magic. She and Harry had stayed up well past midnight trying to remember every prank Fred and George had pulled over the years. Harry had laughed so hard listening to Ginny describe their attempts to put a permanent sticking charm on Ron's old broom that he'd fallen out of bed. Ginny had jumped up to help him off the floor and when Harry finally stood up, her hands were suddenly on his waist. She'd felt him shiver, the laughter in his eyes slowing being replaced with something else. She didn't know exactly how long they had looked at each other there, not speaking, but when Ginny finally got back into bed, it took her a long time to fall asleep.

And now she was overtired and confused, neither of which were ideal for concentrating on the complicated incantation and wand movements needed to transfigure a pottery vase full of flowers into a candelabra; each daisy becoming a separate, lit candle.

Harry was tired too, Ginny could tell. He kept yawning and rubbing his eyes and picking the petals off one of the daisies without really looking at it. She let him be. Normally, they would have talked first, before she started attempting spells. Today however, even talking just felt like too much.

Her fourth attempt was no more successful than the other three had been and Ginny threw down her wand in disgust. "It's not working, I don't feel anything," she muttered.

The healer sighed. "I'd been led to believe this kind of spell would not be so difficult for you at this point in your recovery," he said, a touch of impatience in his voice. "As long as Mr. Potter was here with you."

Ginny saw Harry startle at the sound of his name. He dropped the flower he was holding and looked up. "Wha . . . what? Me? Oh, yeah," he said. "I'm up. I mean, I'm awake. I'm here. Good one, Ginny."

Ginny couldn't help but giggle. Harry had clearly been halfway to a nap, sitting right there at the table. She nudged the vase towards him. "It was terrible, actually. Let's see if you can do better."

Harry gave her a slightly panicked look and Ginny knew he hadn't been paying attention. He picked up his wand anyway. "What was the spell again?" he asked.

Harry managed to transform the vase of flowers into a rather tarnished candelabra with guttering candles on his first attempt. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes as if the effort had exhausted him, while the healer reactualized the vase with a lazy flick of his wand. He looked at Ginny.

"Now that Mr. Potter has, more or less, shown you how it's done, I'm sure you will have no trouble."

Ginny didn't appreciate the man's tone. She turned towards Harry, hoping to share a sympathetic eye roll, or at least get a word of encouragement, but his eyes were still closed. She decided against nudging him awake and picked up her wand.

She knew what she was supposed to be thinking as she said the spell – about transforming the tiny yellow centers of the flowers into points of fire. They would create the power that should slide down the stalks, turning them into wax, and then travel into the vase so it became brass. But she couldn't seem to coordinate her thoughts, the spell, and the careful sweep of her wand that would perform the transformation. Three more times she tried, and the most she could manage was a few puffs of smoke and a singed odor around the flowers. She sighed.

"I fucking hate daisies," she said.

"That's one I forgot!" Harry's voice sounded more alert than it had all morning. Ginny looked at him.

"Forgot what?" she asked. "You remembered the spell just fine. It's me who's having trouble."

Harry shook his head. "A prank I forgot," he said. He looked meaningfully at her. "From last night."

"Oh," said Ginny. She felt warm all of a sudden. "You mean, one of Fred and George's?"

Harry nodded. "First year, on the train to Hogwarts, Ron tried to do a spell Fred and George gave him to turn Scabbers yellow." He grinned. "It didn't work, and he embarrassed himself in front of Hermione."

Ginny grinned back. "I remember hearing about that. Sunshine daisy, butter mellow . . ." she began.

"Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow!" they both finished in unison. Ginny felt some of the tension leave her. "I wish I could have seen Ron's face," she said with a laugh.

"I didn't appreciate it enough then; I barely knew him or Hermione or anything about magic at the time," said Harry. "I would have believed your brothers too. But it was a good prank."

"Try the spell again."

Ginny looked up at the sound of her brother's voice from across the kitchen. Bill had come in with Miriam and they were standing by the sink watching.

Ginny frowned. "Try the rat spell again? It's not real."

Bill shook his head. "The vase," he said. "Try to transfigure it again."

Ginny glanced quickly at Harry. He nodded at her. "You can do it, Ginny."

Ginny took a deep breath and picked up her wand. The image of a very young Harry, watching Ron try a spell and having almost no idea what magic was, rose into her brain. She said the spell and waved her wand, watching with satisfaction as the vase shook and shimmered, and then turned into a gleaming candelabra, tall white candles glowing softly. She smiled in satisfaction.

"That's what I thought," said Bill quietly.

Ginny looked up. "What did you think?" she asked, just as Harry said. "You did?" They both laughed.

Bill smiled at them. "Keep doing what you have been doing – talking and sharing and remembering," he said. "Ginny's magic responds best to those emotional connections." His grin grew a little sly. "But maybe getting a bit more sleep will help too, okay?"

Ginny had a feeling Bill understood more than he was letting on about how she and Harry spent their nights. Next to her, Harry shuffled in his seat.

"Yes sir," he said sheepishly.

Ginny nodded. "I'd not mind a nap about now myself," she said. She looked at Harry. "You?"

In response, Harry gave an enormous yawn. "Sounds good to me."

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The following week, after a long day working with Bill and Miriam and healer Bria again, Ginny was more than ready for bed soon after a late supper. Rain had been battering the windows of the Burrow all afternoon and after the sun went down it turned to an icy sleet that battered the windows of the Burrow while the wind whistled against the house. Bill and the others had left quickly for the Apparition point before the storm got any worse, leaving Ginny and Harry with her parents.

"Dad and I are going to relax by the fire and listen to a Celestina concert, care to join us?" Molly was levitating mugs of hot tea and hot chocolate onto a tray.

Ginny exchanged a look with Harry. "Actually, mum, I think we're going to upstairs," she said, hoping her voice did not convey her opinion of her mother's music preferences. "We umm, we did a lot of DADA work today and I have some questions for Harry."

Her mum nodded vaguely, already heading towards the sitting room. "Take your hot chocolate," she said, waving her wand at the tray.

Once upstairs, Harry and Ginny both collapsed on her bed, laughing.

"That was close," he said. "I don't think I could have stood an entire night of Celestina."

Ginny nodded. "Remember how they used to play her songs in Madame Puddifoot's?" she asked. She shook her head. "And Dean actually liked it!"

Harry groaned. "So did Cho, actually. It was one of the reasons she always wanted to go there instead of the Three Broomsticks." He shook his head. "That should have been a sign."

"A sign of what?" Ginny asked. Despite the fact that she and Michael had gone on a double date with Harry and Cho during one Hogsmeade weekend, and once she they had played two-aside Quidditch when she was dating Dean, she really didn't know much about Harry and Cho's relationship. She sat up, feeling the familiar compulsion course through her.

She could tell when Harry recognized the change in her voice and demeanor. He sat up too. "A sign that she wasn't right for me," he said.

"But you dated her for a long time, didn't you? Most of fifth and sixth year?" It was suddenly very important that Ginny understand.

"Yes,," he said. Harry seemed to gather his thoughts. "At first, I think what brought us together was Cedric, actually," he said. "You know I'd had a crush on Cho most of my fourth year, and I guess I couldn't really believe that she didn't blame me for what happened to him." He gave Ginny a sudden smirk. "And didn't you push me to date her?"

Ginny shrugged. "You needed a distraction from everything going on, with Dumbledore, and people thinking you were unstable, and Umbridge and all."

Harry snorted. "A distraction, so that's what they call it now?"

Ginny grinned back. "It worked, didn't it?"

"For a while, kind of," Harry said. "Although we never talked about anything too serious, other than Cedric." He sighed. "That should have been another sign." He looked at Ginny.

"I guess we mostly talked about our classes, and Quidditch. She was a huge Tornadoes fan." He looked suddenly upset. "She didn't even talk to me about Sirius, after he died. We left for the summer still dating, but she never mentioned what had happened." He looked at her. "You talked to me about it, instead."

Ginny nodded. "To be fair, I was a lot closer to the situation. And I had a lot of guilt."

"Which was wrong," said Harry firmly. "We've been over this, remember?"

"I could say the same for you, Potter," retorted Ginny.

He didn't seem to hear her. "It didn't even occur to me to ask her to come with us to the Department of Mysteries." He shook his head, obviously still thinking about Cho. He looked at Ginny. "I think I get it, though."

Ginny reached out and grabbed his hand. "Get what?"

"Get why I could stay together with Cho for so long." Harry squeezed her hand. "Do you want to hear? I don't want to make you uncomfortable. The umm, the reason includes something about you."

Ginny felt anything but uncomfortable. She scooted closer to Harry on the bed and he put his arm around her. "I want to know," she said softly, leaning into him.

"Well, I had you to talk to," he said simply. "I didn't realize how shallow my relationship with Cho was because you were there instead, for all the deeper stuff." He shrugged. "And Ron and Hermione too, but mostly you." He leaned back against the wall. "I thought of you as one of my best friends, I just didn't realize how important you were to me, because I had a girlfriend."

"For the physical, girlfriend-y stuff, you mean." Ginny had to know.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, that," he said. He looked down at her. "You want me to tell you, right?"

"Please," said Ginny softly. "It's . . . it's important. She touched his hand. "Please," she said again.

"We kissed, a lot," he said hesitantly. "I guess you did too? With Michael?"

Ginny nodded. "And Dean," she agreed.

"Right," said Harry. "Dean." He swallowed. "And, umm, stuff above the waist, under her robes." He looked quizzically at her.

"Just with Dean," she said.

"But nothing under her robes lower down," he said quickly. "Only over our clothes. She didn't want to go further than that."

"Did you?" Ginny whispered.

Harry shrugged. "A bloke always does," he said fairly. He looked down at her. "But . . . it didn't bother me that much, actually. It was enough, most of the time." He gave a small smirk. "And I took showers when it wasn't."

Ginny snorted. "My mum used to have to help me with the water warming charms in the loo when I was little," she said. "I never understood why my brothers always spent so much time in there." She snuggled closer to Harry and reached down to grab his free hand.

"Dean and I didn't do anything _down there_ either. Except over our robes. He wanted to, I think, but it didn't feel right."

"I should have broken up with Cho earlier," admitted Harry. "But I was caught up in everything with Malfoy and the Horcruxes. We spent a lot less time together, the last couple of months. I didn't even notice." He looked at her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about them. The Horcruxes, I mean," he said. "Dumbledore said I could tell Ron and Hermione; he knew he was dying, and that they were likely to go with me to hunt them down. It would have been dangerous for you to know." He shrugged. "I wanted to, though."

"It's okay," said Ginny. "I understand how complicated everything was that year." She gave him a nudge. "And anyway, you told me eventually, didn't you? At the most dangerous possible time?"

Harry groaned. "Don't remind me."

But Ginny had to remind him. There was more to be said, she knew, even though they had already talked about how his feelings for her had started.

"When you thought about me," she said. "After . . . that first night, I mean." She stopped and felt Harry shift next to her.

"Yes?" he asked, a little warily.

"I know you said you imagined us talking, and kissing," she said. "But did you also think about us doing more . . . physical things?" She rubbed her thumb over his hand.

Harry's breath hitched. "I did," he said softly. He swallowed. "But it was always more than just . . . physical stuff. I mean, when I thought about you, I didn't jump right into thinking about . . . that."

"How did it start?"

"Like this," Harry said quietly. He raised their twined hands. "Us alone together, talking."

Ginny twisted a bit so she was turned towards him. "And then what?" she asked softly.

Harry looked her for a long moment. There was a vulnerability on his face that Ginny understood; all the hurt she'd caused, even unintentionally, was making him hesitate. She leaned forward.

Harry finally, slowly, leaned towards her too. His eyes were open and searching. But it was only when Ginny carefully cupped the back of his neck in her palm that he gave a small nod, most of the question in his expression disappearing.

"Okay?" he asked softly. His breath was warm against her lips.

"I'm sure," she replied, closing the distance between them.

The kiss was soft and tentative and sweet. Ginny could feel, somewhat, that kissing Harry was something she _had_ to do, but even more, she knew it was something she wanted to do. She smiled to herself and let him break the kiss first.

Harry leaned his forehead against hers. He was breathing more heavily than usual, and after a moment, Ginny realized she was too.

"That was . . ." she began. She really didn't have the words. Her body was tingling, and as much as she wanted more, she held herself back.

"I know," Harry said. He brushed a hand through her hair. "It's enough for now. I think?"

She chuckled. "I think," she agreed. "I'm not . . . myself yet. Not all the way."

Harry leaned back and kissed her on the temple. "I'm happy to wait."

They both went to sleep soon after that, and didn't talk much more once they in their own beds. Ginny wanted to be alone with her thoughts and suspected Harry did too. Once the lights were low and the sound of the storm beating a relaxing pattern against the windows, Ginny considered what had happened. Kissing Harry had felt . . . right. It had felt natural, and she smiled to herself, reliving the feeling of his lips on hers.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: One, possibly two more chapters in the main story. I also am planning an epilogue, but the first one I started writing (because I wanted to see where Harry and Ginny would end up), didn't feel right for these characters. Instead, that piece is now in the process of becoming a one-shot set in the Emergency universe, and will be part of a Valentines Day fiction contest I'm participating in. Look for it in the next couple of weeks.

Harry had no idea what was going to happen, now that he and Ginny had kissed. He kept telling himself to remember that Ginny wasn't all herself yet, and that he absolutely should not read too much into anything, even though he got into bed with his body tingling and his mind racing. His mental admonitions must have worked though, because he woke up the next morning with no need to perform any cleaning spells on his bed or pajamas.

That didn't mean he wasn't overthinking things a bit, of course. Was it part of Ginny's healing, and thus they needed to tell the healers and others about it? Harry certainly wouldn't be the one to make that decision, but he'd left that morning for a full day of Auror training before Ginny had even woken up, expecting to come back to the Burrow that night to sideline glances and innuendo. He'd even tensed up upon seeing Ginny's mum, sure she was about to swoop in and start gushing. But Molly merely expressed dismay over the state of his robes and asked if Ron's were equally as dirty, before setting a plate of supper before him and Floo'ing away to help her youngest son with his cleaning spells.

When Miriam, Bill, and Ginny came downstairs a few minutes later, Ginny gave him a quick, furtive look before plopping down in the chair next to him and grabbing a few chips off his plate.

"We worked on cleaning spells today," she said after she swallowed. She reached towards Harry's plate again and he gave a good-natured swat at her hand.

"Let a bloke eat, Ginny! All I've had today is a dry sandwich from that shop near the Ministry."

"There are more leftovers if you'd like me to fix you a plate, dear." Molly had emerged from the Floo holding a pile of Ron's robes.

Ginny grinned. "Tastes better off Harry's plate though,"

"And I bet you've already had a full supper too, haven't you?" Harry raised his eyebrows.

"Bill ate more," she said airily.

Harry huffed in mock indignation. "Here," he said, picking up a chip and popping it in her mouth. Too late he realized he was leaning in as if to give her a kiss. He stopped awkwardly, halfway off his chair, feeling Bill's and Miriam's and Molly's eyes all boring into him.

He looked quickly around the table, finally grabbing a napkin in front of Ginny, even though he already had one in his lap and another next to his plate. He wiped his mouth with it, and heard Ginny chuckle quietly.

"So, what kind of cleaning spells did you work on?" he asked quickly.

To his immense relief, Miriam answered as if she hadn't noticed anything.

"Household spells and charms," she said. "Since you weren't here, we wanted Ginny to try magic that has less of a connection to you, to see if it was easier for her to draw on her own power."

Harry snorted. "Cleaning spells would fit the bill, then."

Everyone chuckled, and any remaining tension left the room. Ginny nodded.

"Thank Merlin for my mum," she said. She smiled at her mother. "She was a big help today."

Harry smiled as Molly smoothed the back of Ginny's hair. "None of my children ever showed much interest in these spells until they moved out and suddenly had need for them," she said with a bit of a smirk. "I could usually count on a visit about two weeks after each one left, begging me to show them how to wash clothes and clean dishes."

"So you could do those things?" Harry asked.

Ginny nodded proudly. "And I dusted too."

"I'll have you at my and Ron's flat next," he promised her. "I can't even imagine what kind of mess it is in now that I've not been there much this last month." Harry grinned suddenly, remembering something. "And Hermione refused to help when we asked her. Said it would 'build character' or something to figure it out ourselves"

"As it will," remarked Molly. Now she ruffled Harry hair. "I've shown Ron at least twice already, but I guess he's due for another lesson. You too, Harry."

Something in her voice made him look at the healer. "Am I not going to be staying at the Burrow much longer?"

"What?" the shock in Ginny's voice was palpable. "But I'm not better yet. I need Harry here . . . to get better. I need him here to get better." She reached out to him. "You don't want to leave, do you?" There was an undercurrent of desperation in her voice that Harry knew was from the charm, still, he couldn't help the warmth that surged through him at Ginny's words. He grabbed her hand. "I'll stay, Ginny," he said quickly. "As long as you need."

"Which actually shouldn't be that much longer," Bill said. He looked at them both. "You will still be working with Ginny every week, Harry, but the next phase of Ginny's recovery is going to require some distance between the two of you."

"And I'm sure you want to get back to the Aurors, don't you?" The healer was obviously trying to make him feel better.

"I'm doing fine with the Aurors," said Harry impatiently. "I just want to make sure that this is about Ginny's recovery." He looked at her. "You know that, don't you? I'm not missing anything with my training, even being here too. Kingsley said so just the other day."

Ginny nodded slowly. "I know," she said. "It just . . . took me by surprise, is all." She turned towards her brother. "How much longer is Harry going to stay here?

"Another week should do it," Bill said. "You've been making a lot of progress, and today was a good test of your ability to channel your magic without borrowing from Harry. We need to keep working on that."

"And what about the . . . other feelings?" she asked. "You know, when I feel like I have to do a spell, or . . . something else?" Harry knew why Ginny blushed and he prayed no one else could tell.

"That's another reason for you to work on your magic apart from Harry more often," said Miriam. "It will help diminish the compulsion created by the charm."

Ginny nodded. "At least we have another week," she said. She smiled at Harry. "I guess you are still stuck with me."

"I'll survive another week somehow," said Harry. He tried to keep his voice light, but he suspected Ginny wasn't entirely fooled. "I'll miss being here," he admitted.

Ginny brushed her hand down his cheek. "Me too," she said quietly. She seemed to realize what she had done and jerked her hand away, face flaming.

The room was very quiet.

"Want to play some Exploding Snap once everyone leaves?" Harry grappled for something to say. "I'm not ready for bed yet."

Ginny gave him a hurt look and Harry realized what that must have sounded like.

"I don't mean . . . it's just . . ." he trailed off, blushing.

"It's okay, Harry. I know," Ginny said quietly. "Exploding Snap would be fun."

It was as if the previous night's kiss and then putting words to the fact that Harry would soon be leaving changed something between them, although Harry couldn't say exactly what. They didn't talk about it, but instead, sat at the kitchen table and played Exploding Snap late into the night; truthfully, Harry suspected they were both nervous about what would happen when they were alone in the bedroom. But when the clock struck one, and Ginny couldn't stifle another yawn, Harry put down his cards.

"Probably time to head up," he said, nodding in the direction of the stairs.

Ginny nodded. "You must be so tired from training all day. I didn't realize how late it had gotten."

Harry suspected she was lying; he'd caught her looking at the clock more than once as they played and knew she had been waiting for him to say something. Belatedly, he realized he had been expecting her to take the lead, and he wondered if Ginny hadn't felt compelled to do anything all night or if she was just getting better at ignoring the urges.

 _Maybe she hasn't wanted to do anything with you the entire time, Potter. Maybe it was just the charm, and now that she's able to control it, she will._

They walked upstairs in silence, took turns in the loo, and then stood awkwardly across from each other in the dim light of the bedroom. Before the previous night, this would be the signal for them to climb into their beds, turn to each other, and start talking. But now, Harry wasn't sure about anything.

He really wanted to kiss her, though.

Ginny was watching him, not moving. Clearly, the power that had compelled her to kiss him the night before was gone. When she had touched his cheek earlier, that had been the charm too. And now it seemed to be dormant.

Harry really, really wanted to kiss her. _Would she mind? If he tried?_ The worst she could do was push him away, he supposed. Tell him that now that the charm wasn't making her, she really didn't want to do anything physical. It wasn't what she'd said last night, but last night she'd still be partly under the influence of the charm.

He took a step forward, half expecting her to flinch, or step back.

Instead, Ginny's eyes opened a little wider, and the tiniest of what looked like a smile played about her lips.

The smile gave Harry courage. He took another step forward, and then another. Ginny didn't move from her spot, but her smile got bigger. When Harry was standing so close that he had to look down to properly see her, he stopped.

"I want to kiss you goodnight," he said simply. "But . . . I wasn't sure if you wanted me to. You weren't . . . umm,"

"I wasn't starting things?" Ginny asked.

Harry nodded. "I didn't know if you don't want to anymore. Now that you aren't feeling compelled. To . . . kiss me.

"But I am," said Ginny softly. She looked up at him. "I just can't exactly tell anymore what's me and what's the charm. I want to kiss you, but I don't want to kiss you just because the charm is making me. And I don't . . ." she broke off.

Harry brushed his hand down her cheek, much like Ginny had done earlier. She shivered.

"You don't what?"

"I don't want you to kiss me just because you think it will help me recover," she said in a rush.

Harry let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. _Of course._ He put his hand under her chin. "I really want to kiss you goodnight." He repeated again. He ducked his head a bit. "I've always wanted to kiss you goodnight."

Ginny smiled a real smile. "So kiss me," she said.

This kiss was different than the night before. Ginny's lips already felt familiar, and when Harry tentatively parted his, Ginny followed suit. One of Harry's hands was still brushing against Ginny's jaw, and he carefully moved his other arm around her waist. She melted into him with a little sigh of contentment, and suddenly, things were . . . different. Harry was acutely aware of every place where Ginny's body touched his; her hand on his lower back, the other on his chest - snaking up to cup the back of his neck, her hip knocking gently against his thigh. . . And all the while, they were kissing, softly at first, but then with an intensity that Harry could have barely even imagined, even during those long, difficult nights during the previous year.

It was all so brilliant, Harry didn't even realize for several seconds longer than he probably should have that he was getting aroused. As soon as he recognized that the tingles he'd been feeling on his skin were beginning to concentrate in a single location below his waist, he broke the kiss and pulled back. His arms were both around Ginny's waist now, and he kept them there, angling his body a little awkwardly to keep himself from touching her anywhere else.

"I think . . . maybe . . ." he began in a strained voice. "That we should, umm . . ."

"Yeah," Ginny agreed. "It's getting, umm . . . late." She smiled shyly. "I'm going to sleep well tonight," she said.

"Me too," said Harry. He tried to make his voice sound normal. "But I have to uhh, have a pee first." He quickly leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I'll be back in a second."

It actually took several minutes, and Harry hoped Ginny didn't realize why he'd left. When he got back to the room, she'd lowered the lights and he could just barely see her silhouette on her bed. She was facing his bed, and as he climbed under his own covers, he saw her shift a bit.

"Feeling better now?" she asked. There was an undercurrent of amusement to her voice. Curiosity too, as if she suspected what Harry had been up to, but wasn't quite sure.

 _She has six brothers, damn._

"Kissing you always makes me feel better," said Harry honestly. He rolled onto his side and looked across the dark space.

Ginny was quiet for a moment.

"I'm glad. It makes me feel better too. More like myself," she finally said.

Harry was very sleepy now. He waved his wand to extinguish the last of the light. "I have'n idea for . . . t'morrow," he mumbled. "Remind me."

"I will," Ginny promised.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

The next day, they finally went flying. It was unusually pleasant for December, and Harry had been quite insistent to Bill and Miriam and the group of healers who had come to the Burrow to observe. Ginny couldn't help but smile at the sight of Harry speaking firmly to her brother about the importance of _trusting Ginny to do this._ It made her feel warm inside to know he believed in her.

Bill and the others finally gave in, with the caveat that Harry take Ginny up on his broom first, before letting her fly herself.

The thought of flying together gave Ginny tingles. She saw Harry startle the tiniest bit before agreeing with Bill, and it made her breath hitch. She knew why he'd gone into the loo last night before bed; the thought had kept her awake even after Harry's own breathing had evened out in sleep. It wasn't a surprise, of course; poor Harry had been practically forced to admit that particular activity to an entire room of healers and family.

 _But what does it mean now?_

Ginny wasn't sure. Harry was a bloke; of course he needed _that_ sometimes. And it wasn't a secret that he had fancied her, and that those feelings hadn't gone away. She suspected, or at least she _hoped,_ that it was something more than physical for him, like it had apparently been before, when the charm had prevented her from feeling the same way.

 _The same way_.

And that was the crux of it, of course. She still felt the charm at work on her, making her doubt her that her feelings and emotions were entirely her own, but she was more aware of her own magic and her own needs pushing back. She had touched Harry's cheek yesterday, and hadn't been much herself. But when they had kissed later that night, Ginny had felt almost fully present. It was . . .

"Ginny? Are you here? Ginny?"

Harry's voice startled her out of her thoughts and she realized with surprise that they had arrived at the Weasley's orchard.

"Oh, sorry," she blushed. "I guess I was daydreaming."

"Like I said, you need to get more sleep," remarked Bill idly. He nodded at Harry. "Stay around the property for now."

Ginny realized that Harry was carrying two brooms – his and hers – and carefully leaned her Nimbus against a tree before gesturing to his Firebolt.

"I guess you should be in front," he said.

Ginny nodded, blushing again. She took a deep breath. "That means I get to steer," she said, forcing a bit of cheek into her voice.

Harry smirked. "Like I could stop you," he said.

And Ginny immediately relaxed. She swung her leg over the broom and looked back at Harry. "Better climb on, before I leave without you," she said.

Flying with Harry was the best thing Ginny had done in a long time. She vaguely remembered the last time she had been in the air, during her charm-induced trip to the spiders, and shuddered to herself to think about how close she'd come to serious injury. This time, Harry wrapped his arms comfortably around her waist and let her take control.

She flew them in a wide circle around the Burrow, enjoying the cold air against her cheeks, and then tried a few tentative Quidditch moves. Her zig-zagging felt awkward at first, but then Harry put his lips to her ear.

"Lean a little more gradually into the direction change," he said. "And then push the handle where you want it to go."

It worked, and Ginny couldn't hold back her grin as they zipped across the orchard. And then Harry's voice was at her neck again.

"Try a dive," he suggested.

Ginny never would have attempted the more difficult move on her own, not right now, but when Harry scooted a little closer and tightened his grip around her, she felt a surge of confidence that was only a tiny bit charm, and mostly just her.

With a whoop of delight, she steered the broom into a steep dive, watching with satisfaction as Bill's eyes grew wide and he and the other jumped out of the way, just before Ginny pulled her and Harry back up into the sky.

Harry gave her a squeeze. "I hope that showed them," he said. His mouth was still by her ear, and Ginny suddenly felt him give her a light kiss there, before he leaned away again.

Slowly, she brought them both back to the ground.

"That was excellent flying, Ginny," said Miriam. "Even scaring us half to death with that dive."

"She was completely in control," said Harry. "I didn't do anything."

"I could see that," said Bill dryly. "I doubt you would have buzzed us like that." He gestured to a large basket. "Mum sent you lunch. Why don't you try flying to the other side of the fields to eat; it's a good distance for her to practice with."

"Are you coming too?" asked Ginny.

Bill smirked, and then shook his head. "We think you have this managed yourselves," he said.

Harry balanced the basket in front of him on his broom and gestured to Ginny.

"Do you want to go first?"

Ginny knew it was because Harry wanted to follow her, to make sure she was okay flying alone. The thought didn't really upset her; she knew he was right. She nodded.

"Sure," she said.

And, truth be told, she was more than just a bit nervous, getting on her broom alone. The memory of the spiders, and barely being able to get out of the storm, was stronger now that she didn't have the comfort of Harry's arms around her, and Ginny wobbled a bit as she rose into the air. But soon her muscle memory took over and then she and Harry were racing across the Weasley's orchard and down a gentle slope on the other side of the fields that surrounded the house. They landed almost simultaneously under a tree, and Ginny couldn't help but throw her arms around Harry.

"I did it!" she crowed happily. She couldn't stop smiling.

"You were amazing, Ginny," said Harry. He'd wrapped his arms around her too.

"I didn't quite realize how much I missed flying," Ginny admitted. "I know that the other stuff – the magic – is more important. But without flying . . ."

"I get that," said Harry. "It's the only thing that really clears my mind, no matter what. I don't know what I'd do is someone told me I could never fly again."

"Thankfully, it looks like I can fly again," said Ginny. They still had their arms around each other, but it felt comfortable, not heated. Ginny rested her head on Harry's chest. "Thank you for suggesting it. And telling my brother to bugger off."

Harry chuckled. "I didn't quite tell him that; he's still bigger than me, and knows all those curses."

Ginny huffed. "And he'd better never use any of them on you," she said darkly.

"I'll be careful not to make him mad," Harry promised. He looked down at her as her stomach gave a loud rumble. "Lunch?"

Later, Ginny couldn't even remember what they had talked about as they ate. Harry had been taking a look at a few crooked twigs on her broom and Ginny had been repacking the basket when a sudden movement caught the corner of her eye.

She stared, frozen in shock, as a snake slithered out from the roots of the tree they had been sitting under.

 _But it's winter. It's too cold for snakes._

This snake didn't seem to notice the weather. It glided over the dead leaves, heading first for Harry, and then, changing course, for Ginny. She tried to say something, but her voice didn't seem to work. Harry was bent over her broom and hadn't noticed. The snake changed direction again.

Ginny picked up her wand, frantically trying to remember a spell.

Her voice shook, and the incantation was garbled. Suddenly, instead of disappearing, the snake grew in size; its hissing was loud enough to get Harry's attention. He flew to his feet and dove out of the way, twisting his wand as he did so.

The snake smacked against the tree, dead.

It had all taken no more than half a minute, and then Harry was there, wrapping his arms around her. Ginny didn't even realize she had fallen to her knees. Her heart was beating out of her chest as he rocked her silently.

"What . . . why . . .?" she finally managed.

Harry shrugged. "Even though I don't speak Parseltongue anymore, they sometimes still come find me," he said. He looked back at the dead snake. "They aren't usually that big, though."

"That was my fault," said Ginny in a small voice. "I . . . I panicked. I couldn't remember what to say. It was coming right towards you."

Harry shuddered. "And I thought it was about to attack you," he said. "I looked up and couldn't believe it."

"You acted so quickly," said Ginny. "I barely saw your wand move." She gave a frustrated sigh. "I can't believe I froze again."

Ginny was more than gratified that Harry didn't try to reassure her that it could have happened to anyone, or that she'd get it right next time. He just tightened his arms around her again. "It's something to work on," he said quietly.

They flew back in near silence, and then separated for the rest of the afternoon; Harry settling himself in the sitting room with his training manual and Ginny catching up on seventh year homework. Her magic was finally strong enough to start working at her grade level, and she was determined not to waste any time. She might only be able to take a handful of Newts at the end of the year, but it would not be for lack of trying.

Harry stayed strangely quiet into the evening, and Ginny didn't push him to talk. She assumed that he'd tell her what was going on once they were both alone, before bed. He spoke politely with her parents, and Percy and Audrey, who'd come for supper, and then engaged Percy in a discussion about the Ministry, and how the reorganization of some of the departments was going.

Once upstairs, Ginny had let him use the loo first, and when she came out afterwards, he was already in bed, leaning back against the pillows. He hadn't dimmed the lights yet, and gave her a small smile as she entered the room and closed the door. After a moment standing awkwardly in the doorway, Ginny climbed into bed and dimmed the light.

"I guess flying made me really tired." Harry's voice was quiet in the darkness.

"Yeah, me too," answered Ginny, accepting his lie. He didn't sound angry, or annoyed at her, and though part of Ginny was pushing her to ask Harry what was going on, she managed to control the compulsion. She faked a yawn. "Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Ginny," he replied.

Ginny didn't know how late it was when the sound jerked her awake, but the room was inky black and still.

It took her a second in the darkness to understand what direction the noise was coming from and another for her muddled brain to realize that she was hearing Harry. He was moaning quietly in his sleep, and Ginny could hear the rustling of the sheets as he kicked his feet around.

"Get back," he mumbled, and there was real panic in his voice.

Ginny jumped out of bed. "Lumos," she whispered. By the light from her wand, she could see Harry writhing on his bed. His eyes were closed and he had one hand out as if trying to push something back. The other was clutching at the sheets, pulling them.

"Harry?" Ginny said softly. She took a step forward.

"Ginny," Harry mumbled. Somehow, Ginny knew Harry wasn't talking to her. She was certain of that a moment late, when Harry yelled out. "Ginny, no!" He thrashed more violently, his feet tangling in the sheets.

Ginny crept forward until she stood over Harry's bed. "Harry, it's okay," she said softly. "I'm okay. It's Ginny. I'm fine." She reached out and gently put her hand on his shoulder.

Harry jumped at the touch. His eyes flew open and stared at her; his body was still trembling. He wiped his hand across his mouth.

"Wha . . . no . . . Ginny?" he finally said.

She sat down on the edge of his bed. "It's me," she said. "You were having a nightmare."

Harry shook his head and rubbed roughly at his eyes. "A . . . nightmare?" He sounded confused.

Ginny moved closer. "Uhh huh," she said. "A bad one, I think." She took one on his hands. "Do you remember what it was about?"

Harry was still shaking. "A snake," he said. "There was a huge snake." He leaned into her suddenly, and Ginny scooted closer. "It's gone?" he asked.

"It's gone," Ginny confirmed. "I promise." She lay down fully on the bed, her head next to his against the pillows.

"It was going to attack you," said Harry quietly. He sounded much more aware now. "And I was watching, but I couldn't do anything – I didn't have my wand – and you were standing there in front of it."

"Like today," said Ginny quietly. She rubbed her thumb across his hand and Harry shuddered. "I shouldn't have frozen. I know that spell."

"It surprised you," Harry said. "And you still didn't fall to pieces like you used to. You stood up to it."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Ginny said. "I only saw it about to attack you. I . . . didn't want it to hurt you." Next to her, she felt Harry shift until his head was snuggled into her shoulder. He twisted the hand she was holding and threaded their fingers together.

"Thank you for killing it," she said. "I'm not sure I would have unfrozen in time to remember how to shrink it back down."

"That was quite an enlargement charm," said Harry. He sighed. "I was more shaken today that I wanted you to know," he admitted. "I know you were never in any real danger, even if I hadn't been there, the snake would have probably just slithered away. But . . . I guess it surprised me too. I didn't like thinking about you in danger. I've thinking about it all night."

Something in his voice made Ginny pause.

"Did you have nightmares before?" She asked. "About me?"

"Only one," Harry said. "At the . . . at the start. When I first realized I liked you."

"But not after that," Ginny said.

Harry slowly shook his head. "I worried about you, especially when I did stupid things like tell you about the Horcruxes. But no, my worries didn't transfer over to nightmares that something was going to happen to you."

Ginny thought about that for a moment.

He was quiet. "Can I ask you a question?" he finally said.

"Of course," answered Ginny.

"It bothered you, before," he said. "That I saved you in the Chamber." He turned his head towards her. "What about today, when I killed the snake?" His expression was unreadable.

"Oh," said Ginny. "Umm, no. It didn't bother me. I froze, didn't I?" She shrugged. "I was glad you were there." She shifted on the bed. "And honestly, I never should have let it bother me so much about the Chamber. I was eleven, that first time, and even though I should have known better than to trust the diary, I. Was. Eleven." She spoke deliberately.

"And the second time . . .?" asked Harry. Ginny recognized in his voice that he was trying to be tactful.

"A series of unforeseeable magical events," Ginny said. She had been thinking about it a lot lately. "If I kept trying to carry all the blame for everything on my back, I'd go crazy. And to be honest, seeing how badly Professor Flitwick felt about the entire thing made me realize that it was really not anyone's fault. Not really." She sighed. "It just got out of control."

"I'm glad to hear that," Harry said. He lifted their twined hands and kissed the side of her pinkie. "It sounds like we both understand things about each other now," he added quietly.

"I'm . . . glad you had a nightmare about me," Ginny said. "Not the nightmare, not that I made you have a nightmare, I mean, but . . ."

"I get it," said Harry. "I know what you mean." He squeezed her hand. "Thank you for waking me up."

"Of course," said Ginny. She gave an enormous yawn.

"I guess we'd better go to sleep," said Harry. He sounded strangely reluctant.

"Mmm hmm," agreed Ginny. She didn't move.

Harry shifted the pillows that were leaning against the wall and lay down more fully. Ginny heard take a breath.

"D'you want to just . . . sleep here? Not to do anything," he added quickly. "It's nice," he said.

Ginny pulled the pillow she was leaning against flat too. "It _is_ nice," she agreed. She looked in Harry's eyes. "Just to sleep, right?"

He nodded firmly. "That's all I want," he said. He reached over and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

Ginny couldn't stop the little shiver than ran through her. To mask it, she reached over and grabbed her wand.

"Nox," she said, and the room was pitch black again.

The sound of Harry's breathing was comforting. Ginny curved towards him and rested her head in the crook of Harry's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her.

"G'night, Ginny," he said, now sounding very sleepy.

"Goodnight, Harry. Sleep well," she said back. She snuggled closer and closed her eyes.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: I had planned to have another scene after the last one here, but, it's a big one, and I felt like it needed to stand alone. Today was a good day to write, as we've been digging out from under a blizzard. I want to get the next chapter (possibly the last regular chapter) written quickly, but I'm not sure I'll be as fast as I want. After the main story is done, I have a fun epilogue planned too. Enjoy!

It was, surprisingly, not terribly awkward to wake up in Harry's bed. It probably helped that he was already in the loo, and so they could avoid the whole "stretching, touching, morning-breath too close" thing. Ginny rolled over, waiting for Harry to finish his morning routine, when her eye caught sight of something on the table between them. It was her old sun charm alarm clock – the one she thought she had thrown away - that had stopped working this year.

Ginny frowned. Her parents had brought a number of items from her Hogwarts dorm back home while she recovered, but she didn't remember seeing the clock before. It was broken and useless, and she vaguely remembered chucking it into her trunk in frustration after she'd overslept for the third time.

A second later, Ginny shook her head. _The clock wasn't broken, my magic was._

She didn't know how it had gotten there, but it was suddenly vitally important that Ginny set the alarm to wake her and Harry from now on. She was so intent on making sure she got the spell right that it took an embarrassingly long time to realize that _the clock hadn't been in the room the night before_. And if they clock had been delivered some time after she and Harry had fallen asleep, the delivery person had most likely seen them together in Harry's bed. Bugger.

 _Maybe it was delivered by owl._ Ginny sincerely hoped so. She couldn't imagine what kind of comments she would face from one of her parents – or Bill – about her sleeping arrangements. And it was absolutely not fair to Harry to have to deal with that. Maybe she could intercept everyone before he got downstairs and warn them not to say anything. Her ruminations were interrupted by Harry's return, and she quickly stepped back from the clock, not wanting to draw attention to its appearance.

It didn't work.

"What's that?" asked Harry, peering around her to the bedside table. He had a towel around his waist and his hair was wet. For a minute, Ginny was distracted.

"It's, umm, my old alarm clock," she said finally. "From Hogwarts. I thought it was broken because I kept oversleeping, but it was because of, umm, my magic. I couldn't do the charm to set it, I guess."

"And now you can?" Harry walked over and picked it up the little sun. "I don't remember it waking us all this time."

Ginny shrugged. "I haven't been using it, but I guess I should start. When you leave, I don't know what my schedule will be." She tried to make it sound as if the clock had always been there and she just hadn't bothered using it. Thankfully, Harry let the matter drop.

It got quiet.

"Uhh, Ginny?" Harry's voice was hesitant.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you need to, uhh, use the bathroom?" Harry gestured to the towel wrapped around him. "I need to get dressed."

Belatedly, Ginny realized that she had been staring at Harry's bare chest. She flushed. "Right, I do," she said quickly. She grabbed up her own towel and retreated to the bathroom. Once there, she had to catch her breath. She was tingling all over, but it didn't feel at all compelled this time. Harry had looked . . . different, somehow, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him without a shirt before. And of course, she knew he had broad shoulders and muscles – they'd hugged – and then kissed – enough in the past weeks. Why was thinking about it making her warm, now?

Ginny shook her head. It was probably something to do with her returning magic, she decided. Too bad that this was something she couldn't ask anyone about – she didn't really feel comfortable talking to the healer, and especially not her brother or the other curse breakers. What would she say? "Hey, I'm not sure if this is important, but the sight of Harry's half naked body caused me to become . . ." Ginny forced her thoughts to stop. She knew what it was, even if she couldn't admit it to herself, not yet.

 _When I trust my feelings are all my own, I'll see what's left._ _Then I'll think about it._

That sorted, Ginny nodded to herself and turned on the water, cold as she dared.

HPHPHPHPHP

That night, Harry pulled back his covers and scooted over in bed. "D'you want to . . .?" he asked, gesturing at the second pillow. They had been up late, working on spells outside in the dark and cold; Bill had wanted to see how Ginny performed when she couldn't see what Harry was doing.

She had done pretty well, it turned out, but it had taken a lot of concentration, and Ginny was tired and stiff. Part of her brain tried to tell her that, given her revelation in the bathroom that morning, getting into bed with Harry was something that deserved a little extra thought. She was just not feeling sharp enough to figure that out right now. _But,_ _I don't want to hurt his feelings, do I?_ _It would probably hurt his feelings to say no._

"Sure," she said as casually as she could. She walked towards his bed.

"Not to do anything, of course. Like last night."

Ginny nodded a beat late. "Right," she said. She slid under the covers and turned towards Harry. He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, and she couldn't hide the shudder that went through her.

"Harry," she said weakly.

He looked at her for a long moment. She saw him swallow. "Yes?"

 _Can we kiss?_

The words were on the tip of her tongue. She knew Harry would agree. But something held her back. She was closer now than she had ever been to being able to trust herself, and for that exact reason, she refused to give in.

"Do you, umm, have enough blanket?"

Ginny knew she didn't imagine the way Harry's face fell, just slightly. He nodded. "I do," he said. "Do you?"

Ginny nodded back. "Yes, thank you."

"Well, okay then. Good," Harry said. She felt his hand rest briefly on her arm, squeeze, and then pull away. "Good night, Ginny," he said. He fidgeted with his pillows before straightening out and closing his eyes.

"Night Harry," said Ginny. But sleep, not surprisingly, would not come. Harry's breathing evened out and Ginny lay awake, mentally berating herself for her hesitation. They had more to talk about, of course, and she knew she wasn't ready – either mentally or physically – to make a lot of changes to their relationship. But kissing Harry had awakened something, and Ginny was tired of being scared about wanting more. That she knew he'd let her lead the way for as long as she wanted made it easier to think about, and easier to want.

 _It's time._ _I'll tell him._ _Before he has to leave._

Decision made, Ginny turned over, feeling like a weight she hadn't been aware of had lifted. It was going to be a little awkward, even embarrassing, she was sure, but the thought of Harry's reaction made her feel warm inside. And her own reaction . . . well, that was something they would be able to explore together.

HPHPHPHPHP

Ginny was pleased that her alarm worked perfectly the next morning. She pointed her wand at it to quiet the shining, humming sun and then rolled over to face Harry and ask if he wanted the bathroom first again today. His face was scrunched in discomfort and Ginny wondered if he was having another nightmare. She touched him lightly on the shoulder. "Harry?"

"I'm awake," he said thickly. He didn't open his eyes.

Frowning, Ginny looked at him. He was paler than usual, although his cheeks were flushed, and he was breathing through his mouth.

"What's wrong?"

He rubbed at his eyes and then pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think I'm sick," he said. "I woke up a couple of hours ago feeling like this."

"Like what?" Ginny sat up in bed and put her hand on Harry's cheek. She didn't know a lot about illnesses but she thought he felt warmer than normal.

Harry shuddered at her touch. "Head hurts," he mumbled. "Everything . . . everything hurts." He swallowed. "Throat. Stomach." He was speaking in short sentences as if the effort of saying more was too much. "I'm cold."

"You feel warm though," said Ginny. "I think that means you have a fever. Have you just been lying here? Why didn't you wake me?"

"Hoped it would get better," Harry said. He leaned into her hand, still on his cheek. "Got worse."

"I think I'd better get my mum," Ginny said. "I don't know much about healing spells. Do you remember what time Bill and the others are coming? The healer will definitely know what to do." She bit her lip. "Do you think you need St. Mungo's?"

Harry shook his head slightly, wincing as he did. "Think I'm just sick." He groaned softly. "I feel like crap though."

Ginny got out of bed carefully. "Let me go find my mum," she said.

"Mmmhmm," Harry mumbled. He pulled the blanket up around him.

Ginny flew down to the kitchen. She knew Harry probably wasn't dangerously ill, but she was worried nonetheless. He'd obviously overdone things, between working with her for hours on end, and keeping up with a full regiment of Auror training too. He'd likely picked up a bug at the Ministry.

The kitchen was surprisingly, disconcertingly, empty and dark. Ginny turned slowly in a circle, as if doing so would make her mother – preferably sitting and talking to the healer – suddenly appear. Her eyes lit instead on the family clock. To her dismay, the hands for of her parents were sitting firmly on "holiday". Ginny frowned. _Holiday?_ She looked at the clock again. Bill's hand was on "work," and Ginny relaxed. He'd likely be arriving shortly, and would figure out what to do. In the meantime, Ginny could at least make Harry some tea. That would make him feel better, she thought.

Concentrating hard, Ginny tapped her wand against the kettle, feeling pleased when it began to heat up. She went to get the tea things. On the counter was a covered tray she hadn't noticed. A note sat on top of it. Ginny began reading, her frown deepening with each word.

She closed her eyes for a long minute. _It's okay. I can do this._ Quickly, she finished making the tea and put it on the tray before carefully levitating it up the stairs in front of her.

Harry didn't seem to have moved on the bed. His eyes were still closed and every breath sounded uncomfortable. Ginny lowered the tray to her own bed, trying to be as quiet as possible. Harry opened his eyes anyway.

"Where's . . . where's you mum?" he asked weakly.

Ginny's heart dropped a bit. "Umm, about that," she began. She busied herself with the tray. "Apparently, Bill took her and my dad to France."

"France?" Ginny couldn't blame Harry's confusion. She nodded.

"The curse breakers found a new treasure site," she said. "It's fairly volatile and needs to be contained immediately. Takes precedence over . . . me, I guess."

"But why . . . your mum?" Ginny could hear in Harry's voice that he wanted her mother there as much as Ginny did.

"The site is in the south – on the sea," she said. "Bill thought it would be a nice break for my mum to get away." She shrugged. "She deserves it," she said, a bit defensively. Worry was making her cross.

"She does, she's been taking care of y'. . . us . . . all this time," Harry rasped. Ginny sagged, her anger dissipating.

"It's just really bad timing," she conceded. "The healer isn't coming either; Bill suggested we take an easy day and that I work on some of the spells I was trying last night." She frowned again. "Maybe that's why you're sick – we were out in the cold for a long time. Were you feeling okay then?"

"Yeah, I was," said Harry. He shuffled restlessly and tried to sit up. Ginny hurried over.

"Here," she said. She arranged the pillows behind him and he leaned back heavily.

"Thanks," he said. He closed his eyes again.

"Do you want some tea? I just made it. And . . . maybe a wet cloth for your neck? It might help with the fever." Ginny tried to keep her voice light.

Harry breathed out and opened his eyes. "Tea . . . tea would be good, yeah," he said. "And a cloth. But . . ." he paused, his eyes darting to the door.

Ginny followed his gaze, hoping that a healer had somehow materialized. No one was there, of course. "What?"

Harry shuffled on the bed. "I umm, need to use the loo first," he said quietly. "Brush my teeth and . . . you know."

"Oh, right," said Ginny. For some reason, she felt her self flush, even though she and Harry had been taking turns in the bathroom every morning for over a month. "I'll just put a warming charm on the tea until you get back." She turned towards the tray.

"Ginny?" Harry sounded strangely hesitant.

She turned around. He had turned sideways and put his feet on the floor, but made no effort to get up.

"I think . . . I need some help," he said shakily. "I'm kind of dizzy."

Ginny bit her lip. "Of course. Sorry." She helped Harry to his feet and he leaned heavily against her. She could feel the heat radiating off him even through his pajamas. They took a couple of steps forward and he stumbled a bit.

"Wait, let me try something," she said. She grabbed her wand and concentrated, trying to remember. "Demelza sprained her ankle last year tripping over a vine in the greenhouses. Professor Sprout taught us a spell to make her lighter so we could help her up to the castle." She waved her wand and felt the difference in Harry's weight against her immediately.

"Thanks, Ginny," he said quietly. Slowly, they shuffled to the bathroom. He squinted in the harsh light and Ginny quickly lowered it. Harry leaned against the sink, swaying a bit. Ginny kept her hand on his back.

"Do you need me to, umm . . . stay?" she asked. She couldn't imagine how that might work, but she would figure it out if he said yes.

"I . . . I think I'm okay," he said. She saw him swallow and wince. "But could you stay outside the door? Just in case?"

"Of course," Ginny said. "Don't umm, lock the door. Or silence it."

Harry gave a small nod. "Right," he said. He gave her a small, pained smile. "First nightmares, now hearing me pee. Lucky you."

Ginny smiled back and ran her hand lightly down Harry's back. "Nothing I haven't heard before," she said lightly. "I was jealous when I was younger, that my brothers didn't have to run back to the house every time we were outside." She smirked. "I tried to copy Ron once and peed right down my leg."

Harry chuckled weakly. "I bet he teased you, didn't he?"

Ginny nodded, pleased that Harry seemed more alert. "I remember my mum taking away dessert for a couple of days," she said. "He didn't tease me after that." She touched him on the arm. "I'm going to go now, okay? I'll be right here if you need me."

"Thanks, Ginny," said Harry. "I think I'm okay."

Ginny had to admit she was relieved that Harry finished up in the bathroom without needing her help. They walked slowly back to the bedroom and she cast a freshening charm on his bed and plumped up the pillows before he lay back down with a groan.

"I feel like shit," he said. His voice was strained and stuffy.

"Oh, I forgot the cool cloth," said Ginny. She thought for a moment and then Accio'd a wash cloth from the linen closet. A moment later, she watched in satisfaction as it floated into the room.

"Auguamenti," she said, pointing her wand at the cloth. She carefully wrung out the extra water on the floor and then laid it across the back of Harry's neck before siphoning up the extra drops into the end of her wand.

"How's that, too cold?" she asked.

"No. Feels good," he said. He leaned heavily into the pillows and closed his eyes. "Thanks for taking care of me. I know it's not fun."

"I don't mind," said Ginny, meaning it. "Do you want some tea now?"

Harry nodded slowly. "Okay," he said.

Ginny gave him the tea and watched carefully as he took a sip; his hands were shaking and she could tell it hurt to swallow. "Are you feeling worse?" she asked. She didn't want to show that she was worried, but tea and cool cloths were about the extent of her medical knowledge. She wondered if her mum had a book in the kitchen that might have more cures.

Harry shrugged. "About the same I guess," he said. He shivered and closed his eyes. "Gonna try to sleep," he said.

"Good idea," said Ginny. She lowered the lights.

Harry licked his dry lips. "Will you . . . stay here?" he asked. "Don't want to be alone."

"Of course," she said. She took the cloth off his neck and lay her hand lightly on his forehead. "I think you feel a bit cooler," she said. It was a lie – Harry felt as hot as ever, but she didn't want him to know.

"K," he slurred. "Sleep now." He sank further into the pillows.

Ginny sat down on her own bed. She supposed she could read one of her schoolbooks, but she didn't want to take her eyes off Harry. Indeed, although his eyes were closed, she wasn't certain he was actually asleep; at least, it didn't seem very restful. His breathing sounded labored and he moved restlessly under the covers. After less than an hour, he groaned quietly and opened his eyes.

"Can I . . . have some water please?"

Ginny quickly summoned a cup, cursing herself for not having one ready ahead of time. When he sneezed, she transfigured the wash cloth into a tissue. When Harry shivered, she put a spell on the blankets to warm them up, and when his stomach turned over she managed to conjure a basin just in time.

After she had banished the mess and wiped Harry's forehead, he grabbed her hand. "Stay here," he said heavily. "Please." Ginny nodded, and sat carefully on the edge of his bed. Harry leaned into her. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"I'm so sorry, Harry. I know my mum could do a better job." Ginny felt remarkably helpless. "Maybe I should send her an owl. Or the healer."

Harry shook his head. "No. Just want you." He swallowed and pushed himself up. "Never had . . . had anyone to take care of me before." He grimaced. "Except Madam Pomfrey." He sighed. "You're much better."

Ginny moved a little further onto the bed. "I'm guessing your aunt wasn't really the maternal type," she said.

Harry shook his head. "Not to me at least," he said. "I usually hid it when I wasn't feeling well. It made her annoyed to have to do anything for me when I was healthy; she definitely didn't want to waste her time when I was ill.

Ginny was aghast. "But you were a child!" she said. "You couldn't take care of yourself."

Harry shrugged. "I guess I didn't have a choice," he said. "Luckily I didn't get terribly sick that often. Mostly just colds and stomachaches and stuff."

Ginny could barely stand to hear the forced nonchalance in Harry's voice. "Never again," she said forcefully. She put her arm around his shoulders. "From now on, _I'll_ take care of you when you are sick. No matter when. I promise."

"What if you aren't around?" Harry's voice was very quiet.

Ginny shook her head. "I will be," she said firmly. "Or . . . send me an owl and I'll come to you. You'll never have to be alone when you're sick again."

Next to her, Harry gave a small sigh. "What?" she asked.

Harry didn't speak for a minute. "It's just. . ." he said finally.

"What?"

"I thought you weren't feeling so compelled to say things like that anymore," he said. "You sounded so forceful, just now. Saying things because of the charm."

Now it was Ginny's turn to be silent. She kissed Harry on the forehead and marshaled her thoughts. "I wasn't," she said quietly. "Saying that because of the charm. I meant it. It was . . . just me."

She heard Harry's breath hitch. "Oh," he said. "Okay." He took a deeper breath. "You don't have to . . ."

"I want to," Ginny interrupted. "I . . . know I do." She pushed sweaty hair off his forehead and kissed him again.

Harry chuckled weakly. "You're going to get sick."

Ginny shrugged. "My mum will take care of me. She probably has a potion or something that could have cured this hours ago."

"I'll help her," said Harry. He sounded tired. "I owe you that at least."

Ginny squeezed his hand. "You don't owe me anything, you know. Really." She turned and looked at him. "I hope we're beyond that. Trying to make things equal and all."

Harry gave a small smile. "I hope so too," he said. "I think we are."

Ginny nodded. "Good," she said. She looked around. "I wonder if there is a . . ."

A sudden sound downstairs made her start. She grabbed her wand and jumped off the bed.

Next two her, Harry had grabbed his wand too, and was trying to get up. He stumbled, and Ginny put her hand on his shoulder. "I can handle it," she said. She heard voices and movement on the stairs.

She knew Harry wanted to help, but his face blanched and he lay back on the bed. "Thanks," he said.

Ginny ran to the stairs. "Who's there?" she called loudly. Whoever it was didn't seem to be trying to be quiet and Ginny relaxed a bit. A second later, Bill appeared on the steps below her, Miriam right behind.

"Hey Ginny," he said. There was something in his voice that made her suspicious. She raised her wand higher.

"Don't come any further until I know for sure it's you," she said harshly. She sent a quick Stinging Hex down the stairs and Bill yelped and jumped out of the way.

"Good one, Ginny," he said. "I promise, it's me. If you don't believe me, ask me if I know what you used to call my wife as a nickname, before you got to know her." He gave her a knowing look.

Ginny lowered her wand. "Fine," she huffed. "But I thought we agreed never to mention that again. I like Fleur now, remember?" She frowned and let Bill up the stairs. Outside the bedroom, she stopped. "And aren't you supposed to be in France with mum and dad?"

"Nope," said Bill cheerfully. "Mum's downstairs fixing supper. Miriam and I came to see how Harry's feeling."

"He's feeling terrible, actually," said Ginny. "Been sick all day. I've . . . I've been caring for him as best as I can, but I'm not a healer. I needed . . ." she stopped and narrowed her eyes. "How did you know Harry was sick? He was fine last night when you left."

"Ahh, yes, about that," said Bill. He walked into the bedroom and nodded at Harry. "Sorry, mate," he said. Bill waved his wand and said a few words. Immediately, Harry's face cleared and calmed. He sat up and gingerly felt his head. "Thanks," he said. "That's amazing. I feel completely better." He looked at Ginny. "Maybe you won't have to get sick too."

"How did you . . ." began Ginny. "Wait." She whirled around and pointed her wand at Bill. "Did you make him sick in the first place?"

"I told you to find a different way," said Miriam under her breath. She sounded rather amused.

Bill looked a bit sheepish. "It was part of the tests," he explained. "To see how you handled the need to do magic without preparing ahead of time." He looked at Harry. "Sorry I couldn't tell you. We needed to make it as realistic as possible."

Harry shrugged. "It's fine," he said. "Now that I feel better and I know Ginny won't get sick."

"No." Ginny interrupted. She pushed Bill on the chest. "No. It's Not Fine. Harry's been absolutely miserable all day, and for what? To test me? What the hell were you thinking?" All the worry Ginny had been feeling all day spilled over into anger. "Why would you think it's okay to make him feverish and dizzy and sick? I don't need to get my magic back that badly that I would let you sacrifice Harry's health to do it!" Her voice had risen to something close to a yell.

"Ginny, I . . . I don't mind," said Harry quietly. He looked at Bill. "She was brilliant, taking care of me." He shook his head. "I don't mind," he said again.

"Well I do," said Ginny hotly. She walked over to Harry and brushed her hand across his forehead to make sure he really was better. "You were so sick," Harry. "I didn't know what to do to make you feel better."

"But you did make me feel better, Ginny," said Harry earnestly. "Just being here, with me." He grabbed her hand. "I'll admit, I would preferred to avoid the chills and vomiting while we spent the day together, but you definitely made me feel better." He leaned into her. "You were better than anyone else could have been," he said softly, just to her.

Ginny heard something in Harry's voice. "I'm glad it was me," she whispered back. "But there should have been an easier way." Something Bill had said tickled the back of her brain. She stood up.

"Did you say something about tests? As in, more than one?" she asked.

Bill nodded cautiously. "There were three," he said. "You passed them all."

"Three?" Ginny asked. She pointed her wand at her brother again. "What else did you do?"

Bill pointed quickly at the bedside table. "Well, the clock," he said. "It was one of the first things you lost, and we needed to make sure you could set it again."

"You keep saying 'we,'" said Miriam with a laugh. "I told you earlier that this was all on you." She turned to Ginny. "I told Bill that making Harry sick would not go over well with you."

"Understatement of the year," muttered Ginny. She looked at her brother. "And the third? What was it?"

"It was the snake, wasn't it?" Harry had stood up from the bed and now he walked over to Ginny and Bill. "I couldn't figure out where a snake had come from at this time of year." He looked at Ginny. "They don't really come find me anymore," he said. "I actually had been planning to look into it, next time I was with the Aurors."

Bill nodded. "It was to see how Ginny reacted under pressure."

"Well, I froze, are you happy?" asked Ginny. "I saw the damn snake and I froze and Harry had to banish it." She took a step toward her brother. "So maybe I'm not healed after all."

"But you didn't fall to pieces Ginny." Harry came up and put his arms around her from behind. Ginny leaned into him. "You did a spell on the snake, and you didn't run away." He looked at Bill. "I assume it was charmed to go after us?"

Bill nodded tightly and Harry turned Ginny towards him. "You see? It wasn't a regular snake. It was trying to make you react. You would have been able to handle a regular one just fine."

Ginny leaned her head against Harry's. "It gave you a nightmare," she said quietly. She looked up at her brother. "Never again," she said harshly. "I don't care how long it takes, but you are never fucking around with Harry's health, or his emotions, or his . . . sense of decency, on my behalf. Ever. Again." She held up her wand. "I won't have him hurting. He's been hurt enough already." Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes and she turned back towards Harry.

"I can't believe he did that to you," she said. "My own brother. I'm so sorry."

"It's really, really okay," Harry said. "I mean, it's made us closer this week, hasn't it?"

Ginny nodded. "But I think we would have gotten closer anyway," she said quietly. Harry smiled, a real, joyful smile, and she suddenly felt warm. "But yeah, I'm glad we did."

She was leaning in to kiss Harry – Bill and Miriam be damned – when something occurred to her. She jerked back.

"How did you get my clock up here?" She asked her brother. "And how did you put the curse on Harry to make him sick?"

Bill looked down and shuffled his feet. "I came into the room after you were both asleep," he said carefully. He looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Trying to save mum the need to wash extra sheets?"

That was the last straw. "Myotis Mucocus!"

Over the years, Ginny had had reason to Bat Bogey every other one of her brothers, but never Bill. She had to admit there was something more that satisfying watching her tough oldest brother jerk around and swat at the bats flying out of his nose. Miriam started laughing and even Harry snorted.

"I really, really appreciate everything you've done to help me, Bill." Ginny raised her voice to carry over the sound of the bats. "But from now on, you include me, and Harry, in any of your plans. No more secrets, okay? I have the right to make my own decisions."

The last bat flew away and Bill nodded. "I guess I deserved that," he said ruefully. "Okay. Not more sneaking into your room and no more secret spells," he said. He smiled at Ginny and she detected a hint of pride. "But by the magical signature in this room, you did a really good job today," he said. "You should feel good about that."

Ginny nodded. "I do," she agreed. She leaned against Harry again, suddenly exhausted.

"You need to rest, don't you?" His voice was soft in her ear. "And have you eaten a thing all day?"

Ginny shook her head. "You haven't either," she pointed out.

"Mum is making enough food for Dumbledore's Army," Bill said with a laugh. "I think we'd all better get downstairs and start eating it before she comes up here and sees that only one bed has been slept in."

That was more than enough to get Ginny to tug Harry out of the room. But then she let Bill and Miriam walk ahead of them down the stairs, and put her hand on Harry's arm to hold him back.

Her thoughts were certain when she spoke. "I'd like to sleep in your bed again tonight, if you want," she said. "Not to do . . . a lot," she clarified. "But, I want you to know that I'm . . . umm . . ." at a loss for words, she instead leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.

Harry immediately kissed her back. They stayed on the steps, swaying lightly together, until Molly's voice floated up the stairs. "Supper is on the table, are you two coming down? I made your favorites!"

They reluctantly broke apart. Ginny took Harry's hand and they began to walk down the stairs together.

"I'm close," she said as they walked. "I sense there is a little more to do, but I want you to know that all of _this. . ._ " she gestured at their hands. "Is all me. I think it has been for longer than I was willing to admit. I just wanted you to know."

"I hoped so," said Harry. "I thought, maybe that was the case, but I wasn't sure." They were almost at the kitchen. "I'm so glad," he said softly.

There was more to talk about, for sure. But Ginny's stomach rumbled and Harry took a deep, satisfied breath at the smell of supper.

"Later," she promised him.

Harry squeezed her hand. "Later," he agreed.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: And it's complete! This is by far the fastest I've ever written an entire story, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I did have to rewrite the last third of this chapter though – I had over a thousand words of Harry and Ginny talking and it was just . . . off. Her personality was wrong, his reactions were wrong, it was bad. I actually hate deleting something once it's written, but I had no choice here, and I'm glad I did. And yes, I do realize that I switch between Harry and Ginny's POV at the end. There was no other way for me to do it, and I stand by the decision.

Enjoy! I do have a fun epilogue planned, and that epilogue will likely, finally, delve into the more explicit parts of Ginny and Harry's physical relationship.

The first night back in his flat, Harry barely slept. His room was both too quiet and too loud at the same time; too quiet because he couldn't hear the soft wheeze of Ginny's breath as she slept or the creak of her bed when she turned over. Too loud because every other sound that wasn't Ginny seemed magnified and grating. Noises from the street below, the odd bumps and whines of the building, even Ron's snoring through the wall all served to remind Harry where he was, and that he was not where he would much rather be.

Around 5 am he finally gave up sleep for a bad job. Training was going to be hell later, but he got out of bed anyway. His note to Ginny was short and casual – wishing her luck during her visit back to Hogwarts, joking about how much easier he slept now that she wasn't snoring just feet from him – and he tied it to his owl's leg, wishing he could just deliver it himself. But right before Aruna took off, Harry called him back. The owl hooted reproachfully, but held out his leg and allowed Harry to pull off the note and add a postscript.

 _I really miss you. I miss our talks. I miss saying goodnight to you._

Before he could lose his nerve, Harry retied the note and sent Aruna off into the dawn. He knew he couldn't hope for a reply before the evening; he just hoped he hadn't been too forward. He and Ginny had parted on good terms; they had kissed goodbye quite thoroughly and had a specific plan to meet again with Bill and Miriam in a week. In the meantime, both of them had full schedules – Harry with the Aurors, catching up on several in-person trainings he'd missed, and Ginny at Hogwarts, meeting with various professors to assess her readiness to come back to her seventh year. Both of them were going to be where they needed to be and doing what they needed to do.

Harry knew this; he just couldn't shake the feeling that where he really needed to be was with Ginny.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

Ginny couldn't sleep the first night after Harry left to go back to his flat. She was in her own room again, and everything felt wrong. The shadows made unrecognizable shapes on the wall, the tapping of a branch against her window was unfamiliar, and she missed the sound of Harry muttering in his sleep and the creak of his bed when he turned over. Even the smell was off; Ginny had gotten rather used to gunpowder.

Around 6 am she got out of bed, feeling grumpy. The words _do you want the loo first_ were halfway out of her mouth before she realized she no longer needed to ask. Sighing to herself, she stomped up the stairs with her towel, trying very hard not to think about what Harry looked like when he returned from a shower. It occurred to Ginny that Harry may very well be showering at that exact time, off in his flat in London. The thought made her feel warm, and once again, she sighed to herself before turning on the water colder than she'd normally like. Cold showers were a bloke thing, Ginny knew, but right now they were serving her own purposes too. Yes, she and Harry had kissed – and the kissing was brilliant – but she hadn't let her thoughts, or her body, take things any further than that yet. They were meeting with Bill and Miriam in a week for what Bill had promised was going to be a tough day. Ginny was apprehensive, and so was purposely avoiding thinking about anything beyond kissing right now.

She got back to her room to find Harry's owl, Aruna, tapping on the window. Smiling for the first time that morning, Ginny let the bird in and gave him a treat while she read Harry's note. It was purely Harry, and Ginny was already mentally composing a reply as she read the lines that seemed scribbled more hastily at the bottom of the parchment. Aruna waited patiently while Ginny found paper and quill.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I must admit, it was nice this morning not having to fight you for rights to the loo – I had all the hot water to myself. I hope training today is exciting, but not too exciting. Don't get yourself hexed – especially if Ron is the one doing the hexing. I don't think Hogwarts will be quite as interesting, meeting individually with professors, but hopefully I'll be able to rejoin my regular classes soon._

Ginny bit her lip, considering Harry's final words. She picked up her quill again.

 _I'm lying, of course. I'd much rather be waiting for you to get out of the bathroom and I'd much rather be working on my lessons and my magic with you. I can't wait until I see you next week. I'll be thinking of you before I go to sleep tonight._

Nodding to herself, she sent Aruna and the note back to Harry before turning to get dressed.

HPHPHPHP

It was a long week, and the only bright spots were Ginny's notes, which arrived like clockwork every day in response to his own letters. More than once, Harry had come very close to Apparating to the Burrow or Hogwarts to see her, but always he held back. Ginny's messages to him suggested that she was having nearly as difficult a time being apart as he was, but she hadn't said explicitly what she wanted. Harry had told her all along it was her decision to make and he was determined to keep that promise.

He was wanking in the shower almost every day though. The first time he'd actually tried to think of something other than Ginny, but when the curly blonde hair and Muggle bikini morphed into flowing red and Quidditch uniform, Harry hadn't even tried to fight it. On particularly tough training days – those that left him sweaty and exhausted – he spent his evening shower in a similar manner. Thank Merlin for silencing charms.

But now he was finally going to see Ginny tomorrow, and Harry wasn't sure what was more excited – his brain or his body. He kept lecturing himself not to overthink things, to let Ginny take the lead, but he knew he hadn't imagined that her letters to him had become more explicit over the week too, and it was with more than a little anticipation that he Apparated home after training, determined to get a good night sleep for once. It wouldn't do for him to be exhausted at the Burrow.

Harry waited for Ron to appear next to him before unlocking the front door of their building – magically, of course – and walking up the two flights of stairs. It had been a rough training day and Harry was relieved to have been able to hold his own, despite missing so much. He and Ron were comparing their various bumps and bruises from the magical obstacle course they'd run through when he froze on the landing outside their flat and pulled out his wand. Seconds later, Ron followed suit.

"What happened to the wards?" Ron asked. He took half a step towards the door.

"Hold on," hissed Harry. He pointed his wand at the door. "Homonem Revelio," he whispered. Moments later, his wand vibrated twice. "Two in there," he muttered. "You didn't change the wards or anything while I was gone, did you?"

Ron shook his head. "No, except to . . . oh." Ron's face cleared. He pointed his own wand at the door and quietly said a spell that Harry could have sworn sounded like _Hermionem Revelio_. Ron's wand vibrated.

"It's Hermione," he said. "And someone else."

Deciding to wait until later to berate Ron for not telling him he'd changed the wards, Harry pushed open the door. "Who do you think's with her?" he said over his shoulder.

"Dunno," said Ron. "Didn't even know Hermione was going to come by; she could have brought any . . . Ginny?"

Harry whipped his head around. Ron wasn't wrong; there was Ginny, sitting on the sofa with a glass of pumpkin juice. She gave Harry a tentative smile.

"Uhh, hi," she said hesitantly. "I umm, decided to come visit." She bit her lip.

"Brilliant," breathed Harry. Ginny's smile grew. He took a step towards her and she started to get up from the sofa.

Halfway there, Harry stopped. His initial instinct, to throw his arms around Ginny and kiss her, probably wasn't the wisest course of action in front of Ron and Hermione. As much as he had seen Ron (and to a lesser extent, Hermione) in the past months, Harry had not mentioned a word about his and Ginny's . . . situation. He'd shared the progress she was making magically, but that was it. By the fact that Hermione wasn't already peppering him with questions and Ron wasn't blustering on about Ginny's virtue, Harry was confident that Bill had kept his mouth shut too.

"I know we're going to see each other tomorrow, at the Burrow," said Ginny. "But I, umm . . ." She flushed. "Bill and Miriam and the healers are going to be there. And I wanted . . ." she trailed off.

"I know," said Harry quickly. "Me too."

Hermione looked up. "You too what?" she asked.

"I want to help Ginny practice her magic before she has an audience," said Harry easily. He looked at Ginny. "Do you know what spells Bill wants to do? He said it would be tough."

Ginny grimaced. "I think he wanted me to try Apparating," she said. "I had only just passed my test before school started and I never had a lot of chances to try before . . . everything," she said.

"We can help with that," said Ron. "It's easier if you have familiar people to concentrate on Apparating to."

"Or to sew me back together when I splinch myself," muttered Ginny. Still, she stood up and took a deep breath. "What should we do?" she asked.

Hermione took charge. "I'll go stand in Harry's room; Ron, you go to yours. Harry, you stay here." She looked at him. "Will the anti-apparition wards prevent room to room movement?"

Harry shook his head. "No, just to get in the flat."

"Okay then," said Hermione. "Ginny, stay here and let's see if you can Apparate to Ron and then from Ron to me."

"Okay, good, great," said Ginny. She gave Harry a nervous look.

"You can do it, Ginny," he said. "Remember, destination, determination, deliberation."

Ginny nodded. "Right." She took a deep breath.

Ron and Hermione went to the bedrooms, and Harry finally gave Ginny a hug.

"I missed you," he said into her hair.

"Me too," she said back. "I couldn't wait to see you; I hope that 's okay."

"More than okay," assured Harry. "I'm glad we didn't have to wait until we were with Bill and the rest before we saw each other."

Ginny giggled. "So instead we are with Ron and Hermione?" She lifted her face towards him.

"At least they're not in the room right now," he said, leaning closer. He brushed his lips against hers and felt Ginny shiver.

"Pretty soon we need to . . ." she started to say, when Hermione's voice interrupted them.

"Has she tried it yet?"

Reluctantly, Harry stepped back from Ginny. "Not yet," he called back. "But getting ready to."

Ginny closed her eyes. "I'm going to try Ron's room first," she said.

But no matter how much Ginny concentrated and how many times she turned on the spot, she stayed firmly in the sitting room. Harry could see the frustration growing on her face with every failure, until she finally collapsed with a huff on the sofa.

"If I spin one more time, I'm going to vomit," she groused. She put her head in hands. "Why can't I do this?" She looked up at Harry. "You're standing right here; doing magic with you should be easy." She shook her head. "Do you think I'm done, that this is as far as I'm going to get? What if I never learn to Apparate? What if I never get back my ability to do harder magic?"

Harry walked behind the sofa and put his hands on Ginny's shoulders. "I think it's a little early to worry about all that," he said. "Maybe it's because you haven't seen me in a week. Your magic's just a little rusty."

"What does being with you have to do with Ginny's magic?" Ron and Hermione appeared from the hallway. By the state of their hair and Ron's untucked shirt, Harry suspected that they hadn't stayed separated the entire time.

"It's something Bill figured out with the charm," Harry explained. "Because it was so tied to Ginny's feelings for me, or, rather, her _lack_ of feelings for me . . . "

"Sorry, Harry," Ginny said softly.

Harry squeezed her shoulder. "I thought we had an agreement about apologies," he said. He turned back to Ron and Hermione.

"Anyway, Bill realized that part of the key to Ginny getting her magic back was to borrow my magical energy. She's been doing it the entire time. The umm, the closer, or more personal to me the magic she's trying to do is, the easier it is for her."

"What kind of personal?" asked Ron, just as Hermione said, "Harry, go to your room."

"What? Why?"

"Just a hunch," said Hermione. "Go to your room and wait for Ginny."

"Ahh, right," said Harry. He understood Hermione's plan. Not really caring that Ron and Hermione saw, Harry leaned over and spoke softly in Ginny's ear. "I'll be waiting for you; now it's time to show you where _I_ sleep." He felt Ginny shiver.

"Okay," she said softly. She stood up. "Does it matter that I've never seen Harry's room?"

"I highly doubt it," said Hermione dryly. "As long as Harry's in there."

Harry ignored the tone in Hermione's voice. He nodded. "I'll be waiting," he said firmly.

Harry closed the door to his room. He knew it probably didn't matter, but he closed his eyes and concentrated on Ginny, just as he hoped she was concentrating on him. After two long heartbeats, there was the sound of a crack, and he opened his eyes to find Ginny tottering in front of his window. He ran to her.

"Are you okay? Did you splinch yourself?" She seemed unsteady and he looked her over quickly, searching for blood.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said quickly. "Just spun a little too hard. Wanted to make sure I did it right this time."

Harry gave her a hug. "I'm glad you did," he said. He kept her arms around her. "I didn't think you were done growing your magic."

"I'll just have to make sure I Apparate to you every time," she quipped. She put her hand on the back of his neck. "Can we finish our kiss, please?"

Harry chuckled. "Quickly, before Hermione expects you to Apparate back." He lowered his head to hers.

In the middle of the kiss, Harry suddenly remembered something and pulled back. "What did you start to say earlier? When we were in the sitting room? You said that pretty soon we were going to need to do something, but then Hermione interrupted. What was it?"

Ginny blushed. "Oh," she said. "Right. It's umm, about kissing. I just think we need to . . ."

"Did she make it? Is she here?" Unbelievably, Hermione had interrupted again.

Harry quickly dropped his arms, and then realized what a useless move that was. He put his arms back around Ginny and she put her head on his chest. "Yeah, she made it," he said.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Let's not tell Ron about this, just yet," she said. She gave Harry a look. "Assuming there's something to tell?"

"Well, umm," Harry began. He wasn't sure what to say.

"There will be," Ginny said firmly. "Not yet, but there will be." She looked up at Harry. "Right?"

Harry smiled and gave Ginny a kiss. "Right."

Hermione smiled too. "Good," she said briskly. "So let's just keep it quiet so that Ron doesn't ask a million questions, okay? He still hasn't gotten over Ginny not liking Harry a year ago. Figure things out between the two of you before you break the news."

"We're _trying_ ," said Ginny with a hint of petulance. Harry bit back a snort.

Hermione didn't seem to notice. "I'm glad Ginny was able to Apparate to you," she said. "Ron and I were talking about that. I know a lot of wizards don't like to bother with Apparition, but honestly, it saved our lives so much last year, I think it's an important skill to know."

Ginny looked up at Harry. "Apparating saved your life?" she asked curiously. "More than once?" She only knew part of what Harry and the others had encountered on the Horcrux hunt, and honestly, trying to view those memories through the blur of the charm made them even murkier. She expected that it had been dangerous and difficult for them, and honestly, Hogwarts hadn't been much better. She looked up to see Harry and Hermione having a silent conversation between them.

"What is it?" she asked. "If you can't tell me, that's okay." Ginny realized that was true; if there were things Harry didn't want her to know, or didn't want her to know _yet,_ she could accept that. It was one unintended advantage of losing her magic; Ginny was much more patient now.

"I'm going to tell you anything," Harry responded swiftly. "No secrets anymore. But I'm trying to figure out the best way to explain. To be honest, there are things I haven't even told Ron and Hermione."

"And we don't mind that _at all_ , do we Hermione?" Ron walked into the bedroom and cuffed Harry. "Are you lot just going to stay here? There's an entire sitting room you know, sofas and a fireplace and a bottle of Firewhiskey that is much too full."

They all laughed, and a little bit of tension broke. They all retreated back to the sitting room while Ron assured Harry that it actually was okay that there were things he wanted to tell only Ginny.

"I'm just happy to know she wants to hear them from you," said Ron. He looked at Ginny. "And you do want to hear everything Harry has to say, right? Cause what I know of it isn't pretty."

"I'm sure, Ron," said Ginny. "Harry and have shared a lot these past weeks. It's important that I know everything."

"Good," Ron nodded. He gave her a serious look. "And all that other nonsense, it's done too? You're through being mental and breaking his heart?" Ron's voice was so uncharacteristically earnest that Ginny almost answered without thinking. At the last moment, she understood the import of Ron's question and bit back her reply. '

"I'd rather talk to Harry about that first instead of my brother, Ronald," she said. She turned to Harry and looked carefully at him so he understood she wasn't refusing to answer Ron's question. She was just refusing to give that answer to Ron. She touched Harry's cheek.

"Later, I promise," she said. "We'll talk about . . . everything else."

Harry nodded. "I know," he said. "I can wait. Right now I need to tell you about what happened at the final battle."

Something shifted in the room and everyone settled quietly. Ron and Hermione stretched out long on the sofa and Harry and Ginny curled together on the smaller loveseat. Ginny took Harry's hand immediately.

"Ginny," he said carefully. "Do you remember, after the battle was over, I talked to you, and Ron, and Hermione? About what I'd seen in the Pensieve of Snape's memories?"

Ginny frowned. "Kind of," she said. "I remember you talked to us." She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking. "I really just remember thinking that there was so much more I had to do to help you, and worrying that helping you was going to make you fancy me more. " She looked pensive. "I remember being upset about something you said, something unfair. Did Voldemort try to kill you?" She shook her head. "It's all kind of blurry," she said. "Maybe you should start over."

Harry nodded. "That's easier," he said. He sifted through everything that had happened and turned to Ginny. "You know about the Horcruxes, right?"

Ginny grimaced and nodded. "Those I remember," she said.

Harry nodded. "Right. I guess you would." He glanced at Ron and Hermione. "Well, before Snape was killed, he left me a bunch of his memories. They were all important – turns out that Snape was in love with my mother his entire life. That's why he hated me; he was jealous – I look like my dad."

Ginny nodded. "And she never loved him back?"

Harry shook his head. "Never as more than a friend," he said.

"That must have been so difficult for him," murmured Ginny. "No wonder he was so cranky all the time."

"I think he would have been cranky anyway," said Harry. "But I'm sure that didn't help. I know it was difficult for my mum; she couldn't help not feeling that way about him, but it made her feel bad, I think."

Ginny nodded in understanding. "Having a friend love you when you don't love them back . . . it's terrible," she sighed. She gave Harry a sheepish look. "Even when you can't help it. It's not fair to either of them."

Harry inclined his head in agreement. "At least I know why now," he said.

"And at least I get another chance," said Ginny pointedly.

Harry felt something swoop in his stomach. Part of him wished he could simply chuck the rest of this talk and move onto understanding the hints and innuendo that had defined his and Ginny's communications these last days.

He forced his voice to be even. "It's not fair," he agreed. "But Snape damaged their friendship aside from that; he called her Mudblood, joined the Death Eaters."

"So it was different," noted Ginny.

"It was," said Harry. He took a deep breath, trying to focus. Between them, his and Ginny's hands were twined together, and the feeling of her, leaning against him, was rather distracting. But in the best way, of course. He squeezed her hand before continuing.

Ginny hand jerked in his when Harry explained he had been an unintended Horcrux. "What?" she said faintly. "All this time?"

Harry nodded. "Since I was a baby. I know," he said, seeing the distress on Ginny's face. "I had trouble getting my head around it too. The only way to get it out of me was to let him kill me." Harry had told the story a number of times now, and he'd almost nearly managed speaking with the proper amount of matter-of-fact shock the news required. That didn't make the facts any less horrible, of course, and he recognized how hard it was for anyone to hear for the first time.

Ginny seemed to be trying to process it all without falling to pieces. She scooted closer to Harry and gripped his hand tightly. "I knew he tried to kill you, but the last time you told me, I think I was too focused on what I should have done to help you, and even more on what still needed to be done, now that he was gone." She twisted towards Harry. "So you really let him kill you? You were dead?"

She took several deep breaths and gave him a hard look, as if to make sure Harry wasn't trying to spare her feelings by leaving anything out.

Or maybe she was trying to make sure that he was okay, talking about all this. She lifted his hand and kissed along the knuckles before pressing it into the palm of her cheek. He looked down at her.

"Just making sure you're solidly here," she said with a small smile. Harry matched her look and nodded. "I am, I promise," he said. He touched her knee.

"Are you ready for more?"

Ginny nodded. "As long as you are."

Harry nodded.

"So, how did you get to a place where . . ." Ginny stopped looking suddenly across the room to where Ron and Hermiome were sitting. Both had been uncharacteristically quiet. Ginny gave Harry a quick, searching look and then nodded. "Actually first I want to know what Ron and Hermione saw. I was with them both for a while, but I don't exactly remember what happened." She sat up. "Can you tell me?"

Harry thought it was rather brilliant of Ginny to draw Ron and Hermione into the conversation; listening to his own tale was intense, and he knew he hadn't even reached some of the more horrible parts. He also had a sneaking suspicion that Ginny wanted to get it out of the way - finding out what her brother and Hermione knew - so that they could then leave. A shudder of warmth ran through him at that thought and he hoped no one could see him flush. Ginny glanced at him again, and Harry had a feeling she knew exactly where his thoughts had gone. Her smile held a hint of amusement. "Is that okay with you?"

"It's a good idea," Harry nodded. "I'm not sure I know everything about that time either."

Slowly, interrupting each other rather more than was probably necessary, Ron and Hermione told of missing Harry and then waiting outside the castle during the last minutes of the break in the fighting.

"None of us knew what was going on," said Hermione. "Or what had happened to Harry."

"That's not right," Ron said suddenly. He turned to his sister. "You did know, Ginny. You knew before any of the rest of us."

Ron looked at Hermione. "Remember? Ginny fell apart, and we didn't know why."

Ginny frowned. "Yes, that's it." She grabbed Harry's hand again. "I lost you," she said. "Completely lost you. I was sure of it." She stared at him. "When you _died_ , I knew it." She looked at Harry. "You did die, right?" When Harry nodded tersely, she squeezed his hand tighter. "I knew," she said. "I knew I had missed something I wanted, something I needed."

"You said it was too late," added Hermione. She turned towards Harry. "Ginny completely fell to pieces and insisted you were gone, and we didn't know why."

"I was dead," explained Harry. Ginny reached up and touched his face. "I felt it," she said softly. "Felt the loss. I . . . I didn't know what to do. It was horrible, the sense of missing . . . something." She gave him a sad smile.

Harry leaned into her hand. He was getting closer to understanding many things, all the threads of what had happened with him and Ginny and the charm and his death seemed to be coming together in a single, bright cord. It wasn't finished yet, though. "And then . . .?"

Ron took up the story again. "And then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Ginny got really calm, just about the same time as Voldemort told us all you were dead." He looked at his sister. "You insisted he wasn't though. You were so certain."

Ginny nodded. "I was absolutely certain," she agreed. "It was like, that feeling I'd had, of losing something forever, of it being too late, it disappeared." She looked at Harry and another thread fell into place.

"That's when I came back," he said. Ginny nodded. "And how did you . . . ?" she started to ask.

"And then the snake," Ron interrupted. He looked at Hermione. "Remember?

She nodded. "You almost passed out, Ginny. When you saw Nagini start to attack Neville."

Harry had seen the snake too, from his perspective on the ground at Hagrid's feet. He didn't blame Ginny for her distress; even someone who didn't have her history with snakes would have been upset. It must have been so much worse for Ginny. He looked at her, expecting to see a reflection of the horror of that moment on the face. Instead, Ginny looked almost triumphant.

"I . . . that's right, I did," she said. "I couldn't stand seeing that snake, not when I wasn't able to try my . . ." she turned to Harry. "It's you," she said. "It's all you. That's why I was able to cast . . . and then why I couldn't. There wasn't time with Nagini anyway. " She shook her head. "I can't believe I didn't see it." She turned Harry's head to look him in the eye. "There's more, isn't there? About that night?"

Harry nodded slowly. Ginny words weren't making complete sense, but he suspected he understood better than Ron and Hermione did. He leaned into her hand.

"Your Patronus, right?" he asked first, before answering her own question. She nodded. "I thought so," he said. "And yes, I still have things to tell you. Things I couldn't before, when you were . . . not yourself." He glanced at Ron and Hermione. The latter jumped up.

"Right. I think we should go," she said briskly. She turned towards Ron. "Shall we check out that new Muggle Italian place that opened on my block?"

Ron was slower to catch on. "I could really use a shower first," he said. He started to get up. "Let me just . . ."

Hermione tugged on his hand. "You can shower at my flat, Ron. Now we need to go." She jerked her head in the direction of the loveseat.

Ron finally seemed to understand. "Oh, right." He nodded at them. "See you both soon." He looked at Ginny. "Don't fuck this up again." he said.

Harry expected a sharp retort or even for Ginny to hex Ron, but she merely nodded. "Thanks," she said.

"Soooo," Ginny said when they were alone. "You went to meet Voldedmort." Harry could tell she keeping her voice deliberately light.

"I had to," he said. "There was no other way to get the Horcrux out."

Ginny tried to wrap her head around that. She'd heard whispered rumors and speculation, but in her charmed state, nothing had really made sense, or even seemed that important, before.

"So . . . you went to him on your own? Alone? Or were Ron and Hermione with you?" Because that, somehow, made it easier to think about, Harry having his best friends there to support him. "I should have been there too. I would have, Harry, except for. . ."

"No," he interrupted. "They weren't there. I didn't tell them; didn't tell anyone. That would have been too unfair." He shrugged. "And they probably would have tried to talk me out of it."

Ginny frowned. "But how did you ever . . ." she began. She stopped. "You don't have to tell me," she said softly. Understanding came in a blaze of realization. Harry had walked alone into the forest to meet Voldemort because he was the only one who could have. And she knew that there was no way he would have run away from that responsibility. "I already know," she said. She took his hand, rubbed her thumb over the back. As incomprehensible as it was to even try to imagine, Ginny knew she didn't have to, because _he had._

"I wish you hadn't been alone," she said. The words were small, but she didn't have many more.

"I wasn't alone, not really," Harry said. His voice had an odd timbre to it. Ginny went very still. "I . . . haven't told anyone else this, not even Ron and Hermione."

Ginny waited in the quiet until Harry began to speak.

"I saw them," he said finally. "They walked with me, almost all the way."

Ginny didn't have to ask. Who else could it have been?

"Your parents," she said softly.

Harry gave the barest nod. "And Sirius, and Remus." He moved restlessly next to her.

Something in Harry's tone made Ginny pause. She chose her next words carefully. "Was it a comfort to have them there?"

"Not entirely," said Harry flatly.

And Ginny could do nothing but listen as Harry laid bare everything that had happened to him that horrible night. She said words of distress or comfort when called for, but mostly she just held Harry's hand.

She thought she could tell when Harry told her things he had already shared with others – Ron, Hermione, Kingsley. His words flowed in an easy, practiced way that recognized the emotion behind them but didn't dwell. But other times, Harry stumbled over the smallest bits of narrative, and Ginny knew he was experiencing and realizing it for the first time, along with her.

"I was jealous," he continued in the same flat voice. "Isn't that insane? There I was, walking to . . . to my death. I got to see my mum and dad, really see them and talk to them and everything, and part of me couldn't stop thinking about the fact that they were together, and got to be, forever. And my mum cried over my being alone. Cried over that – not that I was going to die, but that I was alone. It made me really . . . something - I don't know exactly what I felt. I wasn't angry. Not at them, at least. I was angry at the situation, but I couldn't be angry at them." He scrubbed at his eyes. "I don't know."

"Cheated, maybe?" asked Ginny. She thought she could see where Harry's thoughts were taking him. She wasn't quite sure she was right, or if Harry recognized it himself yet, but Ginny was fairly certain there was something coming soon in the story, something rather important for them.

"Cheated, yeah, maybe," Harry said. He looked down at her with an unreadable expression. "I felt cheated to die without . . ." he shook his head. "Cheated," he repeated.

Harry was quiet for a moment. He absently rubbed his hand up and down Ginny's back and she leaned into the touch. "Were they with you when . . .?" she asked, unable to say the words, now that they had arrived at that moment in the story.

Harry shook his head. "Until the last minute," he said. "Then . . . they left."

He started to tell her about that moment, waiting for Voldemort to raise his wand, but something in his voice broke. Abruptly, he began talking instead of meeting Dumbledore at King's Cross station and how the man had urged Harry to go back for reasons more personal than friendship or duty.

"I think he knew, Dumbledore did," Harry said. "I just now realized it." At some point during Harry's tale Ginny had crawled into the circle of his legs and now she lay sideways against his chest. The position kept her from seeing his face, but the constant thump of his heartbeat was comforting.

"Realized what?"

She felt Harry take a deep breath. "Realized that I wasn't ready to stop fighting for you." He huffed. "It's kind of crazy if you think about it. You had been completely consistent for months and months by then, assuring me you didn't have feelings for me. Our friendship was suffering for it. I wanted to accept it and give you space and try to find a way for us to be friends again – just friends – for real, and I kept bollocksing it up. I couldn't stop reminding you how I felt. And Dumbledore apparently knew that I was going to go back and find you and do it again. After I'd killed Voldemort, of course."

Harry mentioned killing Voldemort almost as an afterthought, and Ginny couldn't help but giggle. "Better that you waited until he was dead to come chasing me again," she said.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," Harry said. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her. "For how I acted all that time. Even charmed, I can't believe how nice you still were to me. I probably deserved at least a Stinging Hex or two. I just . . . I couldn't get you out of my head." Harry turned her in his arms and tucked her head under his chin. "Even in my last moments, before the . . . before the Avada Kedavra, I thought of you," he said quietly.

The atmosphere in the room changed. Even following where Harry's thoughts had been going, Ginny had not expected that.

"Me?" she asked. "When . . . you were about to die?" She shook her head. "Even though I didn't . . . we hadn't . . . you still thought of me?"

It should have been overwhelming, hearing how strongly Harry had felt about her all this time. Boys – _men –_ were never so open, at least according to every Witch Weekly articles Ginny had ever read. And these same articles warned witches not to scare away a wizard with too much honesty.

Harry had apparently decided that too much honesty was just what they needed right now.

"I thought of you, just you," he said. "It wasn't even a completely conscious thought. I just knew that there was something unfinished with us, and that I was losing something enormous." He shifted her in his lap. "And then when Dumbledore told me I could come back, there was no question that I was coming back for you."

Ginny twisted her head to see Harry and gave him a pointed look.

"Okay, yeah. I was coming back for other things too," he conceded."

"Ron and Hermione will be happy to hear that," commented Ginny dryly."

Harry chuckled. "We don't need to tell Ron," he said. He kissed her hair absently.

"But Ron and Hermione had each other." The atmosphere grew serious again. "I didn't have anyone. Hell, I didn't even have you." Harry's voice was bitter with the memory. "And yet . . ."

"And yet you still came back for me." Ginny finished Harry's thought. "You had no promise of anything at all for us, and still, you came back."

"Now who's mental?" said Harry.

"Neither of us," said Ginny firmly. "Don't you get it?" She started to climb out of his arms and off the sofa.

Harry let her go. Ginny could tell from his face that he didn't quite understand, or maybe it was that he didn't believe her. It was obvious to her now; listening to the pieces of Harry's story put everything together in one place. His sense of lost opportunity, of being cheated – it matched her own when she had known he was dead.

"You're not mental," she told him. "You couldn't help the way you had to pursue me any more than I could help how irrational I got around you."

"But I could have helped it," said Harry. "I wasn't charmed."

"That doesn't matter," said Ginny. "You were right the first time. Our friendship for all those years . . . of course it was meant to become more." Her heart was beating very fast; she wondered if Harry could hear it pounding. She stood in front of him and gripped her wand.

"It all came together when Ron mentioned Nagini. Remember how much trouble I had with my Patronus this past year?"

Harry nodded slowly. "I couldn't figure it out; you had been so good at it."

"I know. And being able to cast it, calling on good memories, helped me fight my fear of snakes and just generally made me happy. But what I didn't realize then, and especially after the charm started making things with you, uhh, _mental_ , was that all my best thoughts, my Patronus thoughts, involved you. And when I didn't really have you in my life – when the charm prevented it, I wasn't happy." It was so apparent to her now, she couldn't believe she hadn't seen it. She knew that was the fault of the charm, but now that it was gone, it was hard for Ginny to remember just how much it had clouded her thinking.

"Are you sure?" asked Harry quietly.

Ginny didn't bother to answer. Instead, she raised her wand and closed her eyes. She hadn't been able to cast her Patronus in over a year, but now she had no doubt.

"My happiest thoughts have always been of you, Harry," she said. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel him watching her. She didn't think of a particular memory – there were so many now - from before the charm and after - and they all crowded together, suffusing warmth and contentment and desire throughout her body.

Ginny knew the moment she said the spell that it had worked; she felt the power of her magic flow through her arm and out the tip of her wand. It was strong and powerful and . . . different. In front of her, she heard Harry's breath hitch and she knew before she even opened her eyes what it was.

Her horse was gone. In its place, a shining silver doe cantered lightly around the room. Ginny watched as it completed a circuit and then turned, smiling, to Harry, wanting to ask him if he _finally understood_ , wanting to say it first.

Her words died in her throat. For Harry was staring transfixed at the doe, and as Ginny watched, the confusion in his eyes gave way to wonder. He barely seemed to breathe, but after a moment, a single tear slipped down his cheek. He watched the doe make two more circles and then lifted his own wand.

"Expecto Patronum." Harry's voice was not much more than a whisper, but it didn't matter; his stag joined Ginny's doe, and the two animals nuzzled each other for a second before racing each other around the room and then dissolving through the window and out into the night.

Only then did Harry turn to Ginny.

"When?" he asked. His voice was rough with emotion.

Ginny sat down next to Harry on the sofa again. He took her hand.

"When I knew I was in love with you, I suspect," she said simply. Harry stared at her, unspeaking.

"Because I am," she continued. "I . . . I wanted to say it first." Now Ginny's own voice sounded thick. "I love you, Harry. I've loved you for a long time, even though I didn't – couldn't – show it to you."

"Patronuses don't change very often," Harry said quietly. It almost sounded as if he was talking to himself, trying to put together the answer to a puzzle when the pieces were still scattered. "There needs to be strong emotion, for a Patronus to change." He looked up at her.

"You love me," he said simply. There was no question in the words.

"Of course I do," said Ginny. She brushed another tear off his cheek with the pad of her thumb. "And not the way I loved you all that time we were just friends."

"I know," said Harry slowly, nodding. "Because I'm in love with you too." He gave her a rather watery grin. "I've wanted to say that forever, and have you want to hear it," he admitted.

"I'm glad we both want to hear it," said Ginny.

Harry didn't answer. He was staring at her with the same intensity he'd shown her doe, and as she scooted closer to him, he licked his lips.

"There's no one here to interrupt us now," he said softly.

"Finally," said Ginny. She closed the distance between them.

HPHPHPHPHP

The next day, the healers and Bill and Miriam finally declared Ginny's magic to be completely restored. Harry was appreciative of the tact Bill showed at the sight of Ginny's new Patronus; he suspected the memory of having bats fly out his nose was still raw. There were congratulations all around, entirely too much food, and then just the two of them alone, walking to the Burrow's Apparition point. Harry didn't even ask; Ginny wrapped her arms around him and turned confidently on the spot.

They walked together through the familiar gates, past the greenhouses, and up the path to the castle's wide wooden doors. The restoration efforts of the past months were almost complete. The House hourglasses once again gleamed by the staircase, the enchanted ceiling showed the weather as reliably as before. Immediately across from the entrance doors, an entire wall was taken up with moving photos of those who had fallen in pursuit of freedom from Voldemort. It was solemn and wonderful and heartbreaking all at once.

But Harry's destination was to destroy, not rebuild. He kissed Ginny lightly and watched as she walked up the steps in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. He nodded quietly to Professor McGonagall as he passed her, before slipping, silent and unseen, into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

He no longer spoke Parseltongue, and the words did not come easily to his lips. But the Elder Wand knew what Harry did not, and soon, he was picking his way down the too-familiar tunnel, signs of his most recent visit appearing around every turn. The bit of Ginny's cloak still mocked him from the avalanche of rocks and his own bloody handprint still marked the way on the wall.

And then the Chamber itself came into view. The vast cavern had been frightening when he was twelve; it was worse at eighteen. The decaying skeleton of the Basilisk was no longer the only horror; it now cast a gruesome shadow over two blackened masses that had once been Lucius and Draco Malfoy. Even worse were Harry's memories; they were still fresh and raw and he never wanted this place to exist again.

The Elder Wand made sure of that. And only when Harry had demolished every last statue and stone and fountain and remnant, only when the tunnel was collapsed and the bathroom sinks replaced with a bureau, and the bathroom itself turned into a large supply closet, did Harry finally allow himself to exhale. There were students now in the corridors, but he walked too quickly to notice the stares and the murmurs. He hoped someone would tell him the password when he got there; Ginny was waiting for him.


	25. Chapter 25

They were lying together on Ginny's bed in Gryffindor Tower when Harry finally remembered to ask Ginny about something she had said earlier.

"What was it we needed to talk about? You said something yesterday, about kissing?" To stress his point, Harry leaned over and found Ginny's lips.

Ginny kissed him back and then pulled away. Harry could see she was blushing.

"What is it? Does my technique embarrass you?" he teased. "Cause I think with a lot of practice, I'll only get better." He leaned in again.

Ginny swatted him. "Your kissing is great, Harry," she said. She bit her lip. "I just think we need to figure out what else we want to do . . . beyond kissing." She gestured weakly in the area around their waists. The blush was back but Harry also detected more than a hint of interest in her tone. _Ginny sounded somewhat . . . aroused?_

Harry hadn't wanked that morning. He'd stayed over with Ginny and then taken a quick shower in one of the boys' dormitory bathrooms, where he had refused his body's urges that he behave like one of the teenagers who normally washed there. Now they were relaxing and talking before Harry had to leave. He shifted so he could look Ginny in the eye.

"You want to do more than . . . just kissing?" he asked carefully. Belatedly, he realized his body was already reacting. He scooted his hips back.

Ginny looked down. A small smile played on her lips as she brushed her hand along Harry's hip, close to, but not quite touching his growing erection. She nodded mutely.

Harry let out a breath. "Okay then," he said. He scooted his hips closer again. "What do you want to do?"

Ginny took Harry's hand and moved it down to the space between them. "Show me what you like," she said shyly.

HPHPHPHPHPHP

All the other Weasleys were already at the Burrow when Ron and Harry stumbled tiredly through the Floo on December 24th, fresh off a particularly tough training week. Harry knew his hello to Molly and Arthur was rather perfunctory; he also knew they didn't mind that his eyes then immediately sought out Ginny. He wrapped her in his arms and rested his cheek against the top of her head.

"How were your semester exams?" he asked.

"Brilliant," she answered. "Professor McGonagall says I'm all caught up and will be able to take my Newts in the spring."

Harry tightened his arms around her. "That's wonderful, Ginny," he said. His voice broke around an enormous yawn. She tugged on his hand.

"Let's go to my room," she said. "Mum already set up the second bed."

Harry pulled back and looked at her. "I'm sleeping there? Not with Ron?"

Ginny bit her lip and smiled at him. "Yes," she said. "And no. Not with Ron." She nodded her head in her brother's direction. He looked half asleep, standing with Hermione. "Mum's decided to let us be proper adults. Besides," she said slyly, "it's not like we haven't shared a room here before."

Harry swallowed. "Yeah, but that was before we were . . ." he swallowed again. "It's going to be brilliant," he said through another yawn.

Ginny tugged on his hand again. "You need a nap," she said. She gave an exaggerated stretch. "And I think I do too."

HPHPHPHPHP

Christmas was particularly spectacular that year. Molly had outdone herself with food and decorations, and Christmas Eve supper was a lively and raucous affair. After everyone had taken their turn putting gaily wrapped presents under the tree and sharing a final glass of eggnog, they all trooped up to bed; Christmas morning always started early at the Burrow.

After his nap that afternoon, Harry was feeling rather un-ready for sleep. By the way Ginny's eyes sparkled at him, he suspected she felt the same way. With all the people staying in the house, it took somewhat longer to get into the loo, and Harry rushed through his time there so that Ginny could take her turn. He was sitting on the camp bed in his pajamas when she returned. Instead of putting her wand on the bedside table she held it up towards the closed door. Her locking and silencing charms made a familiar squelching noise, and Harry felt his stomach swoop. He stood up and took a few steps towards Ginny, and whenn she turned to face him, he gathered her in his arms and gave her a deep kiss.

"Should we . . . do you want to . . . lie down on your bed?" He gestured behind her.

Ginny nodded. "Yes, please," she said.

It was both familiar and altogether new, facing each other under Ginny's blankets. Harry propped himself up on one arm and ran his other hand down Ginny's hip. "I love you," he said quietly.

"I love you," she answered. Harry leaned in to kiss her again.

"Tonight, it's my turn to make _you_ come," he said thickly. "If you want."

"I want," said Ginny softly. Then she gave a small smirk. "Although I suspect you'll be needing me to take care of you right after?"

Harry nodded, hands already busy pushing off Ginny's pajama bottoms. He'd completely stopped even trying to hide how aroused he got whenever they did anything more than kiss. He knew Ginny was rather proud her ability to use her hands on him; it was so much better than wanking in the shower.

"I hope I get this right," he said.

Ginny arched towards him and moved her hand to cover his. "Let me show you."

HPHPHPHPHP

The next morning, Harry felt like any gifts he got were just icing on an already delicious cake. Not only had he successfully gotten Ginny to climax – _and she'd screamed his name_ – but she'd then scooted down and used her mouth on him until he could barely string two words together to tell her how brilliant it was.

He knew her family would likely give her a lot of Quidditch-related gifts, and indeed, she was soon surrounded by Chaser's gloves, a broom polishing kit, books on strategy, and more. His gift was in a much smaller box, and it was with some trepidation that he watched her fumble with the wrappings.

Ginny's eyes shone as she held up the silver bracelet. Two charms, a stag and a doe, dangled from the links. "It's perfect, Harry," she said. She reached out her wrist. "Put it on for me, please?"

HPHPHPHPHP

They saw each other regularly throughout the next cold weeks, usually at Hogwarts. In between, their owls got regular workouts, flying their increasingly long – and suggestive – letters back and forth.

It was Valentines Day the next Hogsmeade weekend, and Harry took rather more care with his appearance than usual before he showed up at Ginny's dorm. She noticed.

"Are those new robes?" she asked, fingering the heavy fabric.

Harry nodded, his mouth already busy at her neck. "I realized," he said, "that I've actually never taken you on a proper date." He pulled back. "Would you like to?" he asked. "Go on a date with me for Valentines Day?"

Ginny giggled. "I'd love to," she said.

They walked hand in hand through the village before Harry suddenly pulled Ginny into an alley and wrapped his arms around her. He'd braved a Muggle bookstore to find a dining guide listing the best restaurants in Scotland, and the place they stood outside of looked properly romantic without being cloying or stuffy. Ginny inhaled appreciatively. "Smells delicious," she said happily.

Harry carefully transfigured their robes into more mundane outerwear before pushing open the door. "I hope it tastes just as good," he said.

They lingered for hours over the delicious meal, talking and talking and talking about everything and nothing. Only once they were back in the road and getting ready to Apparate back to Hogwarts did Ginny speak up.

"Do you think . . . we could stay at your flat tonight?" she asked softly. "Ron's going to be at Hermione's."

Harry stilled, the implications swirling over him.

"I already asked mum; she signed me out for the night when she heard I'd be with you." A blush crept up Ginny's cheeks, but her voice was firm. She looked at Harry straight in the eye. "I've been practicing the charm," she said frankly.

Harry swallowed. "Me too," he said hoarsely. "The one for blokes."

Ginny nodded, moving closer to Harry and slipping her hands inside his robes. And wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'm ready, Harry," she said quietly. "I love you."

He looked down at her. "And I love you," he said simply, before turning them on the spot.

A/N: And . . . it's done! I felt it appropriate to finish the story today, in honor of my user name. Happy Birthday Lily Evans Potter!

I apologize (but not really) to those of you who may have wanted more explicitness here. It just didn't feel right in this story. Use your imaginations however you want. Maybe something will show up as a Watching and Waiting one-shot one of these days. For those of you who don't follow that story because you don't read M rated works, I just posted a clean and fluffy one-shot there called Love Letters to My Future, if you are interested. Enjoy!


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